Fifty-nine percent of downtown stakeholders who were surveyed about their feelings toward the street closures for Freeman Friday Night Live reported they believe the streets should be closed for the event, according to data released by the Waukesha Business Improvement District Thursday morning.

The BID’s Board of Directors will review the survey in November after the summertime music event has concluded for the year. Sixty-six people responded to the survey, including 13 building owners, 33 business owners, two churches or non-profit organizations, five residents, six artists and seven additional individuals with unidentified affiliations.

“I appreciate the board’s willingness to take time to thoroughly review and interpret the survey results prior to any in depth public discussion,” said BID Board President Shawn Reilly in a news release. “I encourage each board member to their due diligence in reviewing the material so that we can have a productive conversation when street closures are discussed in the future.”

The Waukesha Police Department decided to close the streets as thousands of people attend the event each Friday that is put on by the Downtown Business Association – not the Business Improvement District.

The open-ended responses were varied about the street closures, including some people who felt the lack of parking close to their storefronts discouraged their customers on Fridays and others who were concerned about the perception of the navigability of downtown. Others stated they love that the streets are closed and the general public seems to enjoy it.

“On behalf of the BID’s board of directors, I want to extend a special thank you to our executive committee members who set aside their differences on street closures issues to develop an unbiased survey for our stakeholders,” said Meghan Sprager, BID executive director, in a news release. “Their commitment to this process and the organization overall is commendable.”

Board Member Jim Taylor said during the BID Board of Directors meeting Thursday morning he wished the survey included information from the thousands of people who attend the event and spend money downtown.

“I don’t think you truly got the results from the people it affects,” Taylor said.

Here are the survey results from the BID.

1.The streets should be closed to through traffic during Freeman Friday Night Live.

2. Closing the streets during Freeman Friday Night Live makes it difficult to navigate through the Waukesha BID by vehicle.

3. Are there specific times during Freeman Friday Night Live when street closures are warranted?

4. Closing the streets during Freeman Friday Night Live contributes to the success of businesses within the Waukesha BID.

5. Closing the streets during Freeman Friday Night Live makes the event series more desirable to your customers.