Rockford moves forward with adjustments to City Market

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Rockford Alderpersons vote to move forward with the amended City Market footprint Monday night, that shuts down a block of East State Street and the downtown bridge. Council members said they’ve worked with business owners to reach this compromise, but some owners still disagree. They think the city’s decision will cost them the same loss in revenue they saw last year.

Alderman, Bill Rose, said closing East State Street and the bridge isn’t to purposefully sabotage downtown businesses from earning a successful income. In fact, he hopes it will allow businesses to pocket the money they didn’t last year, and help city leaders minimize protests and the alarming number of pedestrian deaths in the region.

“We feel that the amended move forward is the safest,” Rose said. “There’s going to be disappointment on all sides. We had to pick the best decision, and that’s kind of what we felt was the best.”

Contrarily, some business owners argue more pedestrians could be hurt this summer if the city doesn’t hold people accountable for riding ATVs in the streets during market hours.