I was going to let what the SOURCE said about my "classic rant" go without comment. I really don't want appear defensive.

But street closures are an important issue, and if no one else wants to take the bull by the horns, I guess I'll do it.

I've said before that I thought street closure events were sacred cows. I more or less avoided the subject except in very general terms for the first six months of my blog. When I finally did speak up, sure enough it blew up in my face.

The Third Rail of downtown politics. It won't make me popular among the downtown merchants who are convinced that street closures are good for business. It won't make me popular among media who make money off the advertising for these events. It won't make me popular with politicians who think they are doing downtown Bend a favor. It won't make me popular in town organizations who invite these events. It won't make me popular among the actual event organizers who make profits off these events. It won't make me popular among the vendors who come to Bend and participate in these events. And it won't make me popular among the people who come to these events and have fun.

About the best I can hope for is that there are a few other downtown merchants who aren't thrilled by street closures. Small business people tend to be an independent lot, who really want to do their business without interference. If you look up preceding paragraph, you can see why they are unwilling to say anything.

First let me say, I am not opposed to events in the off-season, or the off-hours. Events at night don't really affect me (I don't know what it does to the restaurants, they'll have to speak for themselves.) If they want to hold a festival in Sept, or Jan. or May, more power to them. I don't think I would even object to Sundays. Traditional events such as the Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting and the 4th of July Pet Parade are wonderful happenings. I participated in my first Bend pet parade when I was five years old.

I'm also not opposed to events that occur in public venues -- parks and government buildings. I think Munch and Music, the Saturday Markets, the Farmer's Markets, the Art Hops are great.

What I object to is the continuing and ongoing frequency and expansion of events. I object to closing streets at the peak season, (July, August and December), on the peak days, (Fridays and Saturdays), and the peak hours (10:00 to 5:30.)

Each event on its own may be worthy; but when is it too many? Closing the streets in downtown Bend in July and August and December, with the vague unprovable notion that it 'helps' bring down customers the rest of the year, is the exact equivalent of asking a restaurant to close on the Friday and Saturday night so that it helps business on Monday or Tuesday.

Any healthy small business survives on its regulars. Tourists are great, and may make the difference between profit and loss, but you pay your rent with the regulars. I can't tell you the number of times I've had a regular say to me, "I saw the streets were closed and just kept going."

Many of the downtown merchants seem to automatically accept the premise that street closures will bring people back. Is there any proof of this? Has there been any reliable surveys? What I know, after 24 years of owning my store, is the usual drop in sales on street closures is about 20-35%. In summer, this can be significant. I work my store almost every day, and if we are accept anecdotal evidence, or received wisdom, my own experience is that I get very few people back who found me because of an event.

In fact, I wonder sometimes if we are just training people to come downtown ONLY during special events.

I don't want to step on any one's fun. But if your neighbors had a loud, raucous party that kept you up until 4:00 in the morning, you'd grin and bear it the first time and the second time, but if it was every weekend? When does their having fun infringe on your ability to live your life?

Again, I'm not asking that all events stop. But I guess I would like to see a freeze on new events, or expansion of hours. The bike race has always begun at 7:00, hence the Twilight title. 1:00 is not Twilight. Yellow tape warning aways drivers at 10:00 in the morning is a very different thing from Yellow Tape at 4:00 in the afternoon. The difference between making a little money or no money at all.

I would ask everyone thinks I'm overreacting to realize that most downtown merchants are paying some high rents. I should properly have called the vendors "cheese-making, wine-fermenting, clowns," because it wasn't the people who attend these events I was really talking about, but the outsiders who we invite for a nominal fee to soak up the atmosphere that the rest of us create year long, to skim the cream, to benefit without putting in the long hours, and high costs, or everyday business.

For someone outside of this to tell me, "it's good for you", is a little like pushing the soldier into the trench, and saying, "we're behind you all the way..." I work every day in my store, and I'd like to benefit during the peak seasons instead of seeing my business diverted to others. I don't believe these events are really put on for our benefit; they need our acquiescence to put them on, so they tell us what the newer stores want to believe.

But more and more events are not the answer.

So, yes. I call for a freeze on the number and size and hours of street closures. A freeze that will hold through the next incarnation of downtowners and the next city council. A binding freeze.

Is that too much to ask?