Public hearing on 2‑way Main Street draws residents and split council discussion

The City of Aberdeen opened a public hearing Sept. 15 on its 2026 Capital Improvement Plan, drawing multiple speakers and extended discussion about proposals to convert Main Street from a one-way configuration to two-way traffic.

Jim Fisher, a long-time Aberdeen resident, told the council he was concerned about pedestrian safety and the loss of on-street parking in the 500 block if the plan includes a right-turn lane. "If you take that parking away ... you don't have a buffer between where people are walking on the sidewalk," Fisher said, noting he estimated the plan could remove "between 24 and 29 parking spots" on Main Street and citing alleys that appear unusable for deliveries.

City Attorney Ron (identified in the meeting as city attorney) described the council’s procedural plan: next week the council will present two resolutions. The first will address the noncontroversial bulk of the capital improvement plan; the second will separately consider whether to approve a two-way Main Street and, if approved, which option to adopt — a two-lane conversion or a three-lane version with a center left-turn lane. Ron said the approach is intended to keep majority support for the broader CIP from being tied to the more contentious Main Street decision and to clarify the exact options if the issue proceeds to a referendum petition.

Council members and staff debated safety and cost. Council member David said project estimates had shifted from earlier study figures near $1.4 million to a lower figure he described as about $200,000 for a “repaint/restriping” style conversion without a turning lane; he also said including a state-funded new traffic light could add another $300,000–$400,000, putting the combined cost into the mid‑hundreds of thousands. David urged careful consideration and noted some infrastructure on Main Street likely will need replacement in the next decade.

Other council members supporting the two‑way conversion cited examples from other cities where pedestrian traffic increased and accidents decreased after similar conversions, and said Aberdeen could test a simpler two‑way flip now and evaluate results before committing to a larger reconstruction tied to future pavement and utility work.

Speakers raised concerns about delivery logistics if on-street loading is reduced and about the reliability of assumptions that alleys would handle additional deliveries; Fisher said he found roughly 25% of alleys on his inspection were not usable for deliveries.

The public hearing was formally closed at the end of the meeting. The council did not vote on Main Street at the Sept. 15 hearing. City Attorney Ron said the council will take votes next week: one on the bulk capital improvement plan and a separate up-or-down vote on the two-way Main Street, including which design option would apply. He also said staff will try to make the referendum question clear to voters if petitioners seek one.