Downtown business owners urge council to pause two‑way Main Street plan, cite parking and safety concerns

Three downtown business owners asked the City of Aberdeen Council on Monday to delay or reconsider a plan to convert Main Street from a one‑way to a two‑way street, saying the change would remove convenient on‑street parking and could create safety problems for pedestrians and drivers.

The speakers — Brent Fisher, who identified himself as the owner of a business on the 500 block of South Main Street; Aaron Duvall, owner of Aberdeen’s Domino’s Pizza at 522 South Main Street; and resident Al Knobster — told the council they oppose the conversion and urged more public outreach before the council commits public funds.

Fisher said the conversion would eliminate parking directly in front of his business and remove as many as “15 to 20 parking places on Main Street” as he understands the plan. He said delivery trucks that currently can be passed on a one‑way street would create head‑on conflicts under a two‑way configuration and said the change could turn Main Street into “a racetrack from one end of town to the other.”

Aaron Duvall told the council that many of his carryout customers rely on on‑street parking in front of the store and that relocating those spaces would force customers to cross multiple lanes of traffic. He told the council his store has been at the location since 1995 and cited recent carryout volumes — 32,000 in 2022, about 34,000 in 2023, and 38,000 in 2024 — to underline the number of short‑term customer visits to that block. Duvall said, “We have a lot of carryout customers and most of them, 75 to 90 of them park on Main Street,” and expressed concern for staff and customer safety if parking were moved.

Both business owners said they have not found community support for the conversion during their conversations with customers. Fisher asked the council to seek additional constituent input, consider placing the issue back on the agenda for further study and suggested a petition or ballot measure if the council moves forward.

Council members and the mayor took no formal action on the topic during the meeting. City staff later told the council that a traffic signal pole replacement at 6th and Main would be required for a conversion and that the lead time to procure the pole is long — one staff member said the pole costs roughly $75,000 and takes about eight months to obtain — making the project time‑sensitive if it proceeds on a next‑year schedule.

Mayor Shoneman said the topic would remain under discussion and suggested a council work session to review project details and costs so members could hear the same information before budget decisions.

The comments occurred during the meeting’s public comment period; no ordinance or funding decision was made at the session.