Regarding those Jersey barriers blocking one lane of Main St in each direction in Nashua:
It’s one thing for a private business to decide to use its own private parking lot for outdoor dining, or to coordinate with other businesses that abut the same parking lot and gain permission to use some parking spaces to conduct business outside. That’s the choice of that business owner and the abutters.
It’s quite another thing for the city to decide – without a referendum or other official votes – whether a public street should be closed to allow a private business to use that area as an extended operating area for that private business.
The question is whether this is a violation of NH Constitution 12A: an eminent domain “taking” of public land (in this case, the street) and transfer of that land to a private individual (the restaurant operator).
Would a judge would look at this and ask why the city is only putting up barriers on certain streets and not every street where a business is located? For instance, where are the barriers on West Pearl Street to allow outside dining for the many restaurants there? Or on Eldridge Street? Or West Hollis Street?
The point isn’t whether there is enough space to close off part of a street and still permit vehicle traffic. The point isn’t whether there is sufficient parking in front of the business either. Nor is the point whether there are other routes to allow bypassing Main Street in Nashua (there is only one river crossing and far too many one-way streets).
In fact, many of the most vocal supporters of the closure of one lane in each direction of Main Street (half the roadway) point out that there are parking garages and a couple of big parking lots for those diners.
The point is that the politicians in Nashua’s City Hall decided to bestow favor on a few businesses without asking the general public’s permission, either by petition or by other official action. They just… did it.
Only some businesses in Nashua benefit from this action – but not ALL businesses in Nashua.
This kind of favoritism should be against the law.
At the very least, the businesses who are using the public sidewalks as their private dining area, and who have been able to extend their private dining area out into the public street, should be charged the appropriate increase in their property tax for the additional land they are now using. Otherwise, those businesses – only the businesses currently being favored by the politicians in Nashua’s City Hall – are getting the use of public land for free.
