Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parking topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Downtown business owner urges council to keep diagonal parking on First Street
Summary
A downtown business owner asked Newton City Council on Oct. 1 to retain diagonal parking on First Street, saying converting to parallel would reduce capacity and citing a claim that downtown parking declined from 1,000 to 700 spaces; council asked staff to review options.
During public comment at the Oct. 1 Newton City Council meeting, Sherry Sigmon of 105 West K Street urged the council to retain diagonal parking on First Street, arguing that changing to parallel parking would reduce downtown capacity as new apartments and a restaurant open.
"If you take five apartments and one car each, that's five cars. There won’t be enough spaces if you remove the diagonal and add parallel," Sigmon said, and she asserted downtown parking has fallen "from 1000 spaces to 700 spaces." She asked the council to move parking signs to the corner rather than on Second Street and suggested a reverse-diagonal layout could help.
Council Member Beverly Danner said she would check to see if the diagonal parking is an option, and Mayor Jerry Hodge said he would review the matter with staff. No formal vote or ordinance change was proposed at the meeting.
The concern ties to a small-scale development pattern Sigmon described (five apartments, two empty buildings and an incoming restaurant) and to broader downtown parking-management decisions. The city did not provide a staff report or a timeline for a decision during the meeting; the item was raised as a public comment request for staff follow-up.
