Late-afternoon dining last year on a partially closed Railroad Street. Photo: Terry Cowgill

Outdoor dining on Railroad Street to continue this summer, as merchants air concerns

After hearing from downtown merchants Monday night, Town Manager Mark Pruhenski and the selectboard will look at improving the experience to make it safer and less disruptive for non-dining businesses on Railroad Street.

GREAT BARRINGTON — In a bow to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town will once again close Railroad Street during the summer months to allow for outdoor evening dining.

But after hearing from downtown merchants Monday night, Town Manager Mark Pruhenski and the selectboard will look at improving the experience to make it safer and less disruptive for those who own non-dining businesses on Railroad Street.

Pruhenski said the town will announce soon when the street would be open again for outdoor dining, but it will happen sometime this spring and dining on the street will occur only on Friday and Saturday evenings, as it did last year.

As Railroad Street patrons dine, East Mountain can be seen behind Main Street buildings. Photo: Leigh Davis

Last spring, Phase 2 of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan took effect. The order continued to place strict limits on traditional indoor dining, but permitted “restaurants to provide outdoor dining service” and allowed towns the flexibility to temporarily change on-premises liquor licenses to allow for off-premises consumption.

The problem for Great Barrington’s downtown restaurants is that most did not have sufficient outdoor space to reopen, even as they tried to make a go of it by mostly serving meals and drinks on the sidewalks.

Some towns attempted to address the problem by expanding the available space to include the street. The only way to accomplish this was by partially or completely closing side streets during the evening hours when dinner is being served.

Pruhenski and town staff developed a plan that closed Railroad Street to all but one lane of traffic and allowed restaurants to place tables on the street and serve drinks and dinner on Fridays and Saturdays from 4–10 p.m.

See video below of Monday’s Great Barrington selectboard meeting. Fast forward to 9:00 to listen to the discussion on outdoor dining on Railroad Street:

The arrangement was such a hit that town staff are developing a plan to do it again this summer, even though Gov. Charlie Baker loosened restrictions on indoor dining when he announced Step 2 of Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan earlier this month.

Pruhenski said there would be some changes. In order to make the setting look less like a construction site, the town will set up planters with lattice exteriors and mounted on castors for easy set-up and takedown. “Festive lighting” will also be installed on both sides of the street. As was the case last year, a variety of live music will be provided during the months of July and August.

Restaurateurs were delighted, but those who own nonfood-related businesses were less than thrilled. Actress Karen Allen, who has owned and operated Karen Allen Fiber Arts for 16 years on Railroad Street, said her business and others suffered from the 4 p.m. Railroad Street closings.

Karen Allen. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

“I know it’s very advantageous for the restaurants and I know people seem to enjoy it, and I desire to support the restaurants,” Allen said. “But I’m very concerned about how difficult it was for us. After 4 p.m., when Railroad Street was shut down, we had not one person, not one … People come to eat; they don’t come to shop.”

Some Railroad Street businesses, such as the now-shuttered Church Street Trading, simply gave up and closed at 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Allen said. And, in the past, the period between 4 and 6 p.m. on those days of the week had been “very productive for merchants,” she said.

“We actually sat there twiddling our thumbs from 4 to 6 just to see what would happen,” Allen continued. “We would open our door, try to make it work — whatever we could do to entice people in — but they’re there to eat; they’re meeting friends. They really have no interest in walking into a store and shopping.”

Allen said she and the merchants she has spoken to are asking for better communication from the town about plans for the street and she asked for a compromise, requesting the closing of Railroad Street for dining on Fridays and Saturdays be delayed, perhaps until 6 p.m., because very few people seemed to be dining before then anyway.

Pruhenski said the starting time had been changed last summer to 5 p.m. within a few weeks, but workers “do need adequate time to remove vehicles that are parked on the street and time for restaurants to set up.”

Allen said she was also worried about safety and, despite signage, that she had seen some near-misses involving cars and waitstaff in front of Bizen.

Musicians entertained diners all summer long. Photo: Terry Cowgill

Erik Bruun, who owns SoCo Creamery, shared Allen’s concern about confused motorists turning onto Railroad Street from Main Street.

“I saw startled faces, and near accidents at that intersection,” Bruun said. “It’s a little confusing for people.”

Richard Stanley, who owns the Triplex Cinema, the Barrington House, and another building on Railroad Street, said his restaurant tenants loved the street dining. Stanley also opened an outdoor dining area in the Barrington House parking lot to serve his restaurant tenants in that building.

“Karen is right,” Stanley said. “We need a lot of signage right at the head end of Railroad Street before you make the turn.”

Stanley, who winters in Puerto Vallarta Sur, Mexico, said that country makes wide use of speed bumps as traffic-calming measures. He suggested use of them on Railroad Street during dining hours.

“You see them all over Mexico instead of stop signs,” he said.

Pruhenski said he and his staff are aware that improvements in safety are needed and the town has hired engineers to come up with a plan to improve safety at downtown crosswalks, including the one at Railroad and Main streets. He will do more research and put the item on the agenda for the board’s April 12 meeting.

“I think it’s overwhelmingly positive,” selectboard chair Steve Bannon said of reaction to the Railroad Street outdoor dining. “We knew there were some tweaks that needed to be made and they’re in the planning stages.”