A vocal group of people in the Nashua area is, apparently, made up of entitled couch potatoes, too self-absorbed to use public transportation (so we barely have any), and too lazy to walk a block or two in order to frequent their favorite stores and restaurants. (This in spite of the fact that the majority of us walk farther from a space in the mall/shopping center parking lot than we would if we parked in a downtown garage or lot to get to the place we wanted to go.)

There is really only one cohort of people that usually needs/deserves parking right in front of downtown businesses – the one with handicapped placards hanging from rear-view mirrors.

So let’s do this. … Let’s fill in all of what used to be parking spaces on downtown streets, extend the sidewalks to create real space for dining, outdoor displays/sales, and a decently-wide traffic corridor for walkers. While we’re at it, let’s legislate all private lots to be public access after 5 pm and on weekends. Then let’s install just two parking spaces per block, both sides of all streets, only for handicapped parking.

Everyone else can hoof it a block or two. The walk will do you good, physically and mentally.

One other initiative that would do Nashua a world of good… Let’s convince all the banks on Main Street to move into one building – sort of a bank mall – so we can open up all their dead zones to attractive retail space and give people incentive to come back downtown for more than just dining.

Banks don’t really want any kind of teller traffic these days, anyway – only their egos drive downtown presence. TD figured that out. Millyard did, too. How about the rest of you? How about going where the money is – to our smart phones – and opening up your downtown real estate to something else.