HOULTON, Maine — After a long winter break, vendors affiliated with the local Community Market are anxious to get out starting this Saturday to showcase their goods.
The Community Market is held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from Memorial Day Weekend to Columbus Day. One new development this year is a section of the downtown will be closed to vehicle traffic on the northern side of Market Square.
Houlton Town Councilors have approved closing the road, between KeyBank and the Market Square Commons parking lot, essentially from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Access to the apartment building parking lot still will be allowed as motorists will be able to turn left when entering Market Square from the Bangor Road/North Street traffic light.
“The council authorized the road closure on an as needed basis, as determined by the chief of police,” Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin said.
By making the closure “as-needed,” Asselin said there could be weekends where the road does not have to be closed, depending on how many vendors there are. The group originally sought to have the road closed at a council meeting last month, stating the number of vendors is expected to increase this year.
Several years ago, the Community Market was held in Houlton’s Monument Park on Broadway, but it did not achieve the level of success the current market has while being in the more visible downtown area.
The majority of the downtown merchants were in support of the road closure, Asselin said.