It's technically Old Town Drive, but for years and years it was the best shortcut in the world to get into the Old Town shopping center. The street, which runs a couple of blocks east and west, connects Amesbury, which parallels Greenville, with the shopping center. Turn onto Old Town from Amesbury and you can get into the shopping center behind Michael's, the craft store. No muss, no fuss, and no need to brave the Greenville and Lovers intersection (or any combination thereof).
Or at least you could until this spring. That's when the city reports that Lincoln Property, which owns the Village apartment megalopolis behind it, closed and locked the gate that separates the street from the shopping center.
Turns out it's an anti-crime measure.
City zoning inspector John Duncan reported: "This closure is a permanent automatic gate. The gate has all of the proper identification including a fire department keyed box. I just talked to a security guard of the apartment complex. The gate used to be open during the day and closed at night. They had a rash of burglaries and decided to close the gate 24/7. Only management, security and maintenance have openers."
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