Council advances Root Street parking plan and dumpster enclosure; Dobbs to remain open with two Church Street spaces removed

The Marietta City Council advanced a downtown traffic and parking proposal known in staff materials as development option B, directing staff to place the item on the Sept. 10 council agenda after discussion about sight distance, parking tradeoffs and emergency vehicle access.

The motion accepted the Root Street elements of the proposal, including: converting part of Root Street to one-way traffic between Dobbs and Hansel with angle parking, adding four angled parking spaces where church-owned straight-in parking exists (to be converted to city right-of-way), and installing a dumpster enclosure at the corner of Root and Hansel. As part of the motion, Dobbs Street will remain open and two parallel parking spaces on Church Street will be removed to improve sight lines.

Mr. Meredith, who presented the plan and the committee’s work, said narrowing the Church Street crosswalk and removing two Church Street spaces would, together with sidewalk and stop-bar adjustments, “give us about 85 feet of sight distance from that intersection” and avoid fully closing Dobbs. Meredith also said, referring to the broader set of changes, that “we're gaining about 18 parking spaces net” when counting the Root Street changes and other nearby adjustments.

Open questions and safety: councilors asked about emergency access should the narrower throat at Dobbs impede fire apparatus. The police chief (unnamed in the transcript) told councilors that crews would use alternate approaches — Lehi/Alma and nearby turns — and that while crews do not prefer to mount curbs, they could make the turn if necessary. Staff also said the curb radius remains tight and would still limit larger apparatus without using some curb overrun.

Discussion included multiple preferences from councilors for resolving the larger downtown circulation package as a whole; some councilors preferred returning both Root and Dobbs items to committee for further review. One amendment proposing to reverse the Root Street one-way direction failed for lack of a second. An amendment to separate the Root Street item from Dobbs (sending Dobbs back to Public Works committee) also failed for lack of a second. Several councilors said the dumpster enclosure is a long-standing item and supported moving that piece forward.

Formal action: a motion to accept development option B (as described above) and to move the item to the Wednesday council meeting passed on a recorded vote of 6-1 (motion carried; one councilor identified as Justice voted against). The motion as recorded directs staff to place the Root Street/ dumpster enclosure/ Dobbs-open configuration on the Sept. 10 agenda for final action; it does not by itself close any streets.

What it means: if approved at the council meeting, the changes will convert certain on-street spaces, alter parking ownership/right-of-way relationships for a set of spaces adjacent to the church, and install a consolidated dumpster enclosure at Root and Hansel. Staff said they will present final striping, right-of-way documentation for the church-owned spaces proposed for angle parking, and any sidewalk or drainage adjustments required to extend the brick sidewalk where parking is removed.

Ending: Councilors placed the Root Street development option B items on the Sept. 10 agenda for final consideration. Staff will return with finalized drawings, right-of-way agreements and a summary of net parking impacts before the final vote.