Tahlequah city staff told the City Council on Oct. 6 they will proceed with preliminary design work to study closing part of Spring Street and a section of an adjacent alley to add about 20 parking spaces for a proposed downtown parking garage.
The proposal would close a short segment of Spring Street and part of an unnamed alley behind the block and add an additional access pattern into the garage; staff said the closure could create an additional one-way alley approach and would require engineering and stormwater work to avoid increasing the floodplain.
City staff said the street and alley in question include a low-water bridge and a drop-off that can be a hazard during heavy rains. ‘‘It’s really a hazard. And anytime we get heavy rains, our emergency management director has to go out and close those gates,’’ staff said, describing why removing that segment merits study. Staff also said the parcel is largely in a flood zone but that a parking structure is not a habitable building and can be designed with stormwater mitigation to avoid raising flood risk.
The council’s direction was procedural: staff may proceed with design and feasibility work but any actual street closure would require a future ordinance and additional council approval. Staff cautioned that preliminary parking counts could shift ‘‘1, 2, maybe 5 spaces up or down’’ and that feasibility depends on funding.
Councilors asked whether adjacent property and business owners had been contacted. Staff said they had spoken with several nearby businesses and property owners including representatives from Auburn Creek and Robin Drake, and that the design team had been asked to continue outreach; staff said they had not contacted every business on the block.
No vote or binding action was taken; staff will return with a formal proposal, an ordinance for any intended closure, and updated parking and stormwater analyses if the feasibility work proceeds.