East Greenwich is getting ready to: "TAKE IT OUTSIDE"
An ongoing joint collaboration of the Town and E.G. Chamber of Commerce will be partnering with Commerceri to expand our outdoor use of public spaces in order to extend the fall outdoor shopping and dining experience. This initiative, to be announced by the Governor next week, will include various business districts around the state that have made a commitment to local business to provide support with the operating flexibility to be outdoors, much deeper into the fall season.
In East Greenwich, we are working out the details on closing a portion of Main Street to through traffic on Sunday afternoons into the evening, so businesses of all types can take advantage of the additional capacity and outdoor space to operate. It is our goal to offer these Sunday experiences in September, October and possibly beyond depending on the weather and interest from the community.
Beyond the Sundays we are looking into ways to successfully utilize the sidewalk and road areas directly in front of businesses on a more routine basis. This would allow for Main Street to remain open to travel as well as provide for the added convenience of having added space to work with, directly in front of stores and restaurants. We are in communication with both Commerceri and RIDOT officials working out the details and attempting to secure the necessary approvals to make this a reality.
In addition, in the coming days, the Town and Chamber will be adding sandwich board signs along Main Street encouraging those residents, shops, visitors and employees to wear a mask in all public and common spaces. We need to make everyone feel protected while setting a tone of welcome and safety for those frequenting our community. Please do what you can to assist local business and to celebrate our community’s resilience. We look forward to seeing everyone out and about in Town!
