Groton — City resident Bryon Niemann remembers going to Thames Street regularly as a child to buy comic books and candies.
The shops on the street catered to the neighborhood during a time when most households only had one car, if that, he said.
But like in most places in the country, many of those businesses gave way to big-box stores and malls, which then gave way to the internet, he said. Now, Thames Street has massive traffic but hardly anyone stops, and if they do, they find it hard to find a parking spot, he said.
Niemann, who has lived near Thames Street on and off for 60 years and has seen the street in its many forms, was among about a dozen city residents who gathered outside during a workshop the city held Thursday evening at Thames View Park to share their perspectives on Thames Street and ideas for the corridor's future.