Greeley city council voted to extend 8th and 9th Street plaza closures to Oct. 13 — with some adjustments

By Kelly Ragan

If you’re looking to make use of downtown’s picnic tables and open consumption laws as we bounce back into summer temperatures, you’ll have another month to do so. 

At a special meeting Tuesday night, city council voted to extend closing the  8th and 9th street plazas to cars, with some significant adjustments. 

Streets will now be closed 3 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Sunday until Oct.  13. The plazas had been closed all week. 

Greeley residents are still divided on the subject. Some business owners applaud the effort and see it making a real difference. 

“With nicer weather on the way, the return of college students, and what seems to be a reduction in COVID cases and deaths, it would be greatly beneficial to downtown if this ordinance was extended to continue to create a safe space for downtown patrons in the coming months,” wrote Matt Estrin, owner of Tower 56, in an email to councilmembers. 

Some downtown residents though say they’re struggling to find parking. Others said the picnic tables set up downtown aren’t being used.  

In one email, Greeley resident Alex Hilton said, “I have very rarely seen the picnic tables being used, and I’m still not exactly sure of their purpose.” 

Maria Secrest, regional director of the office of U.S. Senator Cory Gardner and a former city councilwoman, said the closings made it difficult for her office. . 

“I am strongly affected by the closing of 8th Street due to constituents unable to come into the office,” Secrest said. “Many of the constituents have difficulties with their disabilities due to the heat and distance to walk into the office.” 

But for the most part, downtown businesses seem to support the extension. 

In an email to city councilmembers Aug. 25, Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Bianca Fisher sent in survey results. 

In the email, Fisher said residents weren’t surveyed because the DDA doesn’t necessarily have a good way to contact them or track those numbers. 

According to the survey, support broke down like this: 

8th Street Businesses 

• 12 supportive 

• 2 against 

9th Street Businesses

• 13 supportive 

• 0 against 

Adjacent 8th/9th Avenue businesses 

• 5 supportive 

• 1 against 

Approximately 23 property owners (representing 35 properties) 

• 11 supportive (representing 20 properties) 

• 2 against (representing 5 properties)