Closing Gay Street for "24/7 Open Air Market" Remains Up in the Air

WEST CHESTER, PA — Whether Gay Street will close to traffic to provide a "24/7 Open Air Marketplace" from Memorial Day to Labor Day remains uncertain.

For the past two summers, Gay Street was closed from Matlock to Darlington streets, providing residents and visitors an area to socialize and dine without worrying about traffic.

But this year there is an obstacle.

PECO is in the midst of a project to replace conduit lines and manholes in the downtown area which will create traffic congestion if the road is closed.

Police and fire companies have expressed concern about public safety with PECO working in the area and Gay Street being closed.

Borough Council is expected to discuss the issue at a meeting on April 20.

Council is considering three options:

• Opt not to close Gay Street in 2022 and review the option in 2023.
• Opt to close the road on weekends from Friday to Monday morning. PECO would agree not to work on Fridays to make this option feasible.
• Opt to close the road the way it was done in the last two years with traffic disruption caused by PECO work.

John O’Brien, executive director of the West Chester Business Improvement District, said council has asked for information on which option the businesses would prefer this year.

In 2021, he said, the businesses supported closing Gay Street.

A total of 79 of 101 business representatives in the borough supported closing Gay Street, according to a survey conducted by the nonprofit in 2021.

O’Brien said he believes many businesses are hoping to close Gay Street again.

O’Brien also noted that a Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission study concluded West

Chester is one of the 10 least impacted towns economically during the pandemic in 2020.

He said that the Open-Air Market contributed to the businesses success.

Open-Air dining has become popular in downtown areas in metropolitan Philadelphia during the summer months.

On March 8, Phoenixville Borough Council approved a scaled back version of Open-Air dining to weekends from Memorial Day to the end of September.

Last year, it started in the beginning of May, and continued until Nov. 7.