The job description for the shared rural downtown coordinator position reported in the Jan. 20 Recorder needs to start with these top three priorities, at least here in Shelburne Falls: 1) Parking and traffic management. 2) Parking and traffic management. 3) Parking and traffic management.

I value and enjoy supporting my local grocery stores, pharmacy, and everyday eateries, and hope that any downtown revitalization efforts will not add any more times when they lose my business for lack of parking. I truly wish I could walk down and back every time to do my part to ease the vehicle congestion, but unfortunately on many days I just can’t (no whine, just fact).

If we want to increase village business traffic, is it time to also talk about hard realities like a multistory parking garage behind Keystone?

Janice Fleuriel

Buckland