A group of Niles residents have put a whole new spin on road rage this month.

Much like the honking and hollering that often fills busy highways, two opposing groups of people are at odds — but these cars are parked.

If you have been following the headlines lately you have seen that some downtown merchants are displeased with the effect the weekly cruise-in car show is having on business.

Pizza Transit owner Sarah Brittin is tired of having to redirect customers from several blocks away who want to dine in or pick up their pizza on Wednesday nights. Other downtown employees have expressed concern over the mess left in the streets, and the fact that they cannot get home from work with the roads blocked off.

At the last Niles City Council meeting, Sarah told council members of her woes, and others chimed in on Facebook.

Of course, those responsible for the car show are hurt by what they seem to feel is an attack on the project they have poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into.

A Facebook post signed by car show coordinator and former mayoral candidate Rex Carpenter on the Forever Young Car Show page encourages patrons to frequent sponsors over those who do not sponsor, and berates the popular restaurant owner for speaking her mind.

I think it is about time we hit the brakes on all this nonsense.

Marc Milhander created the Bring It! Cruise-In car show seven years ago to give gearheads a chance to network, but also to draw people to a downtown district that was unfortunately often deserted — especially after 5 p.m.

It was a treat for folks to see Main Street not only filled with hot rods, but people. Downtown business owners frequently hosted sidewalk sales or pushed grills out on to the sidewalks to flip burgers for guests. Participants were exposed to the great things going on downtown, which helped market the great things these entrepreneurs were doing to invest in Niles.

Fast forward seven years, and it is difficult to find a place to park on any night of the week — car show or no car show. The downtown is often filled with patrons buying pizza at one of our many pizza establishments. People bustle about as they shop for furniture or books, grab a coffee at Top Heavy or enjoy an adult beverage at The Brass Eye or The Nuggett.

Sarah told council members that car cruisers seldom purchase food from her restaurant, but frequently come in to use the facilities. Others weighed in on her Facebook post expressing similar concerns.

John Crothers, owner of Resurrections Home Furnishings on Main and Third, recently wrote a letter to support the car show, saying that the show does bring him business. He is worried relocating the cruise-in will discourage participants from frequenting Main Street at all. So far, I have not seen another merchant share Crothers’ sentiments.

I fully support downtown Niles serving as a venue for events, but when the event costs taxpayer dollars to operate and does not in turn return the investment to our town, the decision is pretty simple.

There has to be a compromise that opens up Main Street to travelers, but still offers cruisers a convenient place to admire each other’s vehicles. I do not know what that solution is, but I trust our city council members will find a middle ground.

Until then, all parties involved will have to learn to — literally and figuratively — share the road.

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7700, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.