Having had the opportunity to witness, record and occasionally even announce the Town of Farmville’s steady growth over the years has been a privilege, to say the least.

The new businesses that now line Main Street and make up the Farmville Downtown community each in their own way and together as a whole, have come to create unique and disarming charm within the historic old district. It is an inviting atmosphere that harkens back to “the good old days.” Many residents in the area have come to depend on the offerings of Downtown Farmville as a respite and remedy from a busy workweek.

The news of the plentiful offerings of historic old downtown Farmville has gotten around, too. Farmville is not a default, second place or “since we are headed that way” choice of destination. It is a destination that is planned for and reserved to stay at.

We are blessed to be the chosen destination of an ever- growing number of visitors and tourists, all eager to experience the precious little gem that is the center of our town.

A trip downtown on a fair weather Saturday is all it takes to see that more than just a few people come here for business and pleasure. Traffic is bumper to bumper and slow along both main corridors, sometimes all the way through town.

This reality brings up the serious and inevitable question — what is the plan for dealing with an already limited parking problem?

The recent work by town officials to expand both business and residential districts in Farmville wisely exempted the downtown historic district from change as a means of preserving it.

However, as businesses continue to open, it is safe to venture that parking is only going to become more of an issue, if not an outright problem. And not just for the visitors we hope make their way here, but for the people that work and operate the very businesses that make the district the attraction it has come to be.

The quality of leadership that has brought Farmville to the point of progress it enjoys today is unparalleled. The degree of insight and foresight it has exhibited thus far is exactly the reason Farmville is enjoying its current success. The hope is that as our town continues to grow, the issue of parking and the many other pains inherent to its growth will be met with the same degree of intuition and foresight.

Noel Oliver is a staff writer for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia, LLC. He can be reached at Noel.Oliver@FarmvilleHerald.com.