Another cruise-in season has begun in Mount Airy, but not everyone is revved up about its first installment last weekend — leading to a survey being launched to gauge downtown business operators’ opinions about the event.
The last dual-exhaust emissions had barely cleared the air when the Mayberry Cool Cars and Rods Cruise-In concluded on June 19, capping a 20-month delay fueled by COVID-19, before complaints surfaced from one affected person about its operation.
Sherry Kearns of Mount Airy, who is associated with The Grand Pup Resort Hotel and Spa in the heart of the central business district, made her views known in a letter to the editor published last Sunday (“Reader concerned over downtown events,” Mount Airy News, June 20).
This included allegations about the monthly cruise-in series’ chief organizer, Downtown Business Association President Phil Marsh, which Marsh says are unfounded.
Kearns referred to downtown traffic being reduced to one lane to accommodate the parking of muscle cars and vintage vehicles along North Main Street and others to cruise through the area. This requires using the parking spaces in front of businesses.
“The event does not start until 4 p.m. yet they block parking starting at least 6 a.m.,” Kearns wrote in part. “The event runner Phil Marsh was asking people to move and holding spots for his friends in their cars.”
Marsh denied that Thursday afternoon.
“Nobody has reserved spots,” he said of the allegation that favoritism is shown in the parking of vehicles participating in the cruise-in events that are held during the warmer months.
“None of these cones we have on the sidewalk have anybody’s name on them,” added Marsh, who said the parking of cruise-in vehicles must begin early in the day to avoid logistical problems and occurs on a first-come, first-served basis.
While he acknowledges that the cruise-ins don’t officially start until 4 p.m., this is when music by a DJ begins downtown and participants sign up for car show judging. “That don’t mean we have to start parking at 4,” Marsh said.
“We have to start parking early — if we don’t, we can’t get everybody in,” the Downtown Business Association president stressed, pointing out that this is covered by official regulations for the cruise-ins coordinated by that group. “My permit allows me to park earlier.”
The sheer volume of vehicles makes this mandatory in Marsh’s view, which not only requires using spaces along North Main Street but also side streets and the Mount Airy Post Office parking lot that was filled during the occasion.
“I’d say it had to be 400 or 500,” he estimated. “They were everywhere.”
Asked to summarize his reaction to Kearns’ complaints overall, Marsh had a concise response: “That was totally inappropriate.”
Kearns elaborated Friday on the issues she raised in the letter, including expressing dissatisfaction with situations such as people not being able to park on the street early in the morning and the operation of the cruise-ins generally.
“My concern is that the person that runs it is allowed to do anything they want,” she said of setting up for the events. “I just think that needs to be done a little differently.”
Kearns also said that trash is left at the DJ station, a gazebo on the corner of North Main and West Oak streets near The Grand Pup Resort Hotel and Spa.
Kearns’ complaint is believed to be the first to be raised about the cruise-ins in such a public manner.
Survey launched
The short online survey on the cruise-ins was announced last Tuesday, geared toward downtown businesses.
“That was brought on by that letter that was sent that was really uncalled for,” Marsh said of the survey.
The organization Mount Airy Downtown Inc. partnered with the Downtown Business Association to launch it in an effort to allow affected parties to provide input for improving the events.
“So far we have received 42 responses from downtown businesses,” Main Street Coordinator Lizzie Morrison of Mount Airy Downtown reported Friday.
“Our downtown business owners are creative people who have shared good ideas on how the event could be improved,” Morrison said. “For example, one business suggested having tents in the street to offer people shade from the sun.”
Other ideas include having the vehicles parade into the downtown area from Veterans Memorial Park, which occurs with heavily attended Christmas parades, and help with traffic control at intersections to alleviate congestion and allow safer access.
The initial survey results seem to suggest basic support for the cruise-in series.
Of the 42 people responding so far, 87% think the events should be held on North Main Street, according to Morrison.
Some business operators responded that the cruise-ins have no impact on or might decrease their sales marginally, but still are open to conducting the events downtown.
“Likewise, there are businesses that reported the cruise-in events increase sales,” the Main Street coordinator mentioned.
Yvette Allen of Talley’s Custom Frame and Gallery located downtown, seems to fit in that middle ground of the cruise-in effects on customer traffic.
“I think they do a good job,” Allen said Friday of event organizers.
“We had a lot of traffic in the shop,” she continued. “It did bring a lot of people to downtown.”
On the other hand, the June 19 cruise-in was a bit of a detriment to the business, Allen said.
“We did have a lot of people that called that wanted to come in here, but there was no parking on the streets.”
Allen also believes downtown businesses should receive more advance notice of cruise-ins so operators know what to expect concerning traffic.
A good “problem”
“The cruise-in events have gotten to be very large and that’s a testament to the hard work of Phil Marsh and others,” said Morrison, the Main Street coordinator.
“I’m thankful to have ‘problems’ like this and believe it’s always a good idea to assess how to handle growth like what we’ve seen with the cruise-in events.”
Morrison said the plan is to leave the survey up for a few more weeks to give all downtown entities a chance to respond.
“We tried to give the businesses the opportunity to give constructive feedback that would help to understand the economic impact of the event,” she said. “Hopefully, some solutions will happen that will make things easier and more beneficial for everyone involved.”
For his part, Marsh, the Downtown Business Association president, urges everyone to take the long view concerning the cruise-ins and other activities that might cause parking and traffic hassles but are beneficial overall.
“What people need to realize is that these events we have downtown is what’s keeping Mount Airy alive,” he said, pointing out that cruise-ins in particular draw people from a wide range of states including New York.
“We’ve had people from all over the place.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com