All this talk about improving the Weirs..is there an alternative?

[sum-r breeze]

Originally Posted by Woodsy

For the record I am a year round resident of the Weirs... and truly love it!

The Weirs and most of the lake for that matter are and always will be seasonal. There is no getting around it.

Meredith has had success because 1 company, NH Hospitality, essentially owns the bottom of the bay and most of the property across Rte 3. Meridith is all commercial property at the bottom of the bay. It is also very adult oriented. Yes, there are a few things for kids to do, but not much. Wolfeboro has a similar type draw. The Weirs is a mix of commercial and residential properties, and that does present challenges.

The Weirs has ALWAYS been kid oriented... the Beach, the Drive In, Waterslides, Arcades, Mini Golf, Pizza & Ice cream places, etc etc... all driven by families with kids who were on vacation. So every week there was a new batch of customers looking to spend money.

Unfortunately, the demographic has changed... all the little motels are condos, and families just aren't very interested in what the Weirs has to offer anymore.

So you have 2 options... adapt or die. Unfortunately the Weirs has been slowly dying. If it wasn't for Bike Week, the place would be boarded up. The property & business owners don't want to change and adapt, and the City of Laconia doesn't want to spend any $$ on upkeep. Lakeside Ave is disgrace.

The Weirs has tremendous potential.... But the City and the property & business owners need to get together and form a plan. Loosen up the rules a little, embrace Bike Week and help it grow (although that demographic is getting older and dwindling regardless), Spruce up & repave Lakeside Ave. Get rid of the parking meters! The property owners need to actually spend some $$ improving their properties. Lets have a mix of some cool eats, some live music, funky shops. Its a small area so this should be very doable.

Woodsy

It seems like the live music activity tends to bring people out. The night life in the lakes region is kind of non existent. I remember when the Lobster Pound at the time had a live band playing on top of a very large flatbed trailer in their parking lot. The place was jammed with people dancing and really enjoying the music. Live entertainment is the way to go and relax the curfew time to midnight or so. Just my 2 cents

The Breeze
Wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back