A Jim Thorpe resident pitched a zoning change to borough council Thursday night that would allow for an expanded downtown business district. Brian Evans, who lives on West Broadway, said the change would decongest the downtown area by spreading Jim Thorpe’s massive amount of visitors among a greater area.

The plan would consolidate part of the residential R4 district, starting from 128 West Broadway into the existing business C3 district.

“We’re really talking about from the old jail on down, bringing that area into the C3 district,” Evans said. “Jim Thorpe is bursting at the seams right now. This would expand the walkable business district and provide a greater footprint for businesses to develop.”

Evans created a website, www.jtnow.org, where he goes into greater detail about the plan and how he sees it helping the borough. Businesses in the current R4 district, such as the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center, and Stabin Museum, are struggling to attract customers, Evans said.

“We hear person after person walking up Broadway, once they hit that residential district, say there’s nothing more up there, let’s turn around and go back,” Evans said.

“Right now, we have 15,000 people here every weekend, but we only have restaurant seating capacity for 1,200. We’re trying to sardine those people into two-tenths of a mile between Broadway and Race Street. A zoning change could spread that out over time.”

Mayor Michael Sofranko said while he is always in favor of business, the number one problem in Jim Thorpe is parking and he failed to see how an expanded commercial district helped solve that.

“I think we need to focus on the parking issue because those are the complaints that we receive,” Sofranko said. “I have never gotten an email from anyone saying they have nothing to do in Jim Thorpe this weekend. But I can show you a stack that goes very high of requests to do something about parking.”

Evans said he was driven to come up with the plan after attending borough meetings and listening to Jim Thorpe residents talk about how increased tourism has negatively impacted their quality of life. Helping disperse crowds away from the train station and preventing an overflow of people into the roadways will allow for a smoother flow of traffic, he said.

“People aren’t going to stop coming here,” Evans said. “The railroad will be bringing in passenger excursions this summer. The development on Flagstaff Mountain where they already have approval for a Ferris wheel and a grant for a gondola running into town is going to draw people in. There is also approval up there for a 300-home development. This is all going to happen in the next 10 years. We have to start planning for future needs.”

Sofranko and other borough officials said they welcomed additional discussion with Evans on the proposal.

“I’m hoping to hear if there is a path forward here,” Evans said, “and I genuinely want to hear from council where they think this works and where it doesn’t work and why. They can help me understand and be a better part of the community.”