I was one of a dozen business owners who presented a petition last year to Macungie Borough Council urging an update of the proposed traffic calming & walkability improvement plan. The ambitious streetscape plan was first proposed as part of the 2010 Main St. revitalization report.

As a Main Street business owner, I find this very exciting. It’s an important statement for Macungie to retake its fate into our own hands. The statement is that Macungie remains a Main Street community open for business. Its leaders are willing to proactively deal with increased traffic resulting from the reckless deviation from regional planning happening in Lower Macungie.

Small business and entrepreneurs seek traditional town centers. My business partners and I made a decision to locate our business on a traditional Main Sreet. as opposed to a cookie cutter office building or bland strip. We wanted character & walkability. This is the strength and competitive advantage of Macungie. Many strip malls have seen this trend and now seek to emulate town centers with varying levels of success and failure. Macungie is the genuine article.

Our location is walkable to the post office our bank and accountant, keeping our dollars hyperlocal “in the neighborhood”. Often when we choose to walk to lunch we have a dozen or so local eateries to choose from. The neighboring community park is a business asset offering a fantastic venue for outdoor meetings.

My next store neighbor on Main is a state farm insurance branch. The owner Tom Bartholomew moved the business from a township strip mall to Main for many of the same reasons. Just behind my new building the new Devine School opened this past year. That’s just my block. There is no denying businesses want to locate and invest in Main Street communities.

For that reason It is fantastic to see the borough also willing to make an investment in itself. This decision makes a bold statement about the Borough and reinforces its inherent strengths, which will only attract more businesses who seek the same character others have.

(Cross posted from Smart Growth for Lower Macungie)