In a town where parking is already sparse, two unlimited-time parking spaces have been removed from South Street to “improve traffic operations and safety,” according to the city—two years after residents complained about the sight lines there.
Residents from the Midway Manor neighborhood approached the city May 20 with concerns about the parking spots, says city spokesperson Miriam Dickler. Vehicles parked on the street west of the Midway Manor driveway blocked the line of sight of drivers coming out of the parking lot and prevented them from seeing oncoming eastbound traffic, says Dickler. Traffic engineers concluded the two spaces violated the city’s intersection visibility standards.
“These violations presented unsafe conditions to road users and were corrected in a timely manner,” Dickler says.
In 2014, a Midway Manor resident told City Council it was difficult to cross South Street because of traffic coming around a blind curve and because of the poor sight lines, according to the Daily Progress. That same year, the crosswalk was installed.
“These concerns are obviously related in the same area, but are not the same issue,” says Dickler.