The Water Street reconstruction in Hallowell hasn’t changed what works best here — the great community spirit of this little city. There are definitely challenges during the reconstruction, but overall that sprit in Hallowell helps us through it all. Most in Hallowell know of the “Down With The Crown” team. It is not a Revolutionary War reenactment group; its residents and others are dedicated to supporting Hallowell businesses and merchants, the Maine Department of Transportation and Hallowell visitors as the “crown” is removed from our main street.

The elephant in Hallowell’s living room during reconstruction, however, is parking. After doing many “parking counts” around the city myself, though, I am finding between 70 and 85 vacant spaces most every time. There are always spaces at the river bulkhead and the railroad tracks above the Public Utilities Commission, and there are usually spaces at the corner of Water and Central streets. Even at lunch and supper, there are 30 to 40 empty spots in the city. Business employees and owners are parking away from Water Street, leaving open spaces close to shops and restaurants.

Are there problems? Of course — it’s a multimillion-dollar, seven-month project. But the Maine DOT and Sargent Construction are working to minimize problems, doing all they can to encourage folks to continue discovering downtown Hallowell.

Meanwhile, the Hallowell Board of Trade and DWTC are launching events on the weekends to draw people to Hallowell. You can find information about the great things happening in and around Hallowell on the Hallowell website at Hallowell.org.

We also post upcoming events on Facebook at: Facebook.com/HallowellArts/ and on Instagram: @HallowellArts. “Discover Hallowell” weekends begin when the construction crews head home at 3 p.m. on Fridays. Come, visit, enjoy and discover all that Hallowell has to offer.

John Bastey

Hallowell