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Resident opposes Alley 9 one-way proposal at Sharpsburg public hearing
Summary
At a Sept. 9 Sharpsburg public hearing, resident Claudine Marcum urged the council to reject a proposal to make Alley 9 one-way to Snyders Landing Road, saying it would interfere with legal street parking and create safety hazards; alternatives including a "Resident Use Only" restriction and a "Do Not Enter" sign were discussed. The hearing closed with no vote.
Mayor Russell Weaver and the Sharpsburg Mayor and Council held a public hearing on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, on a proposal to make Alley 9 one-way to Snyders Landing Road. The hearing, held at Town Hall, drew at least one public comment opposing the plan and closed at 6:25 p.m. with no formal action recorded.
Claudine Marcum, a resident of 305 W. Chapline Street, spoke against the one-way proposal, saying it would disrupt how residents access legal street parking on the 300 block of Chapline. "I am against the proposal because the properties in the 300 block of Chapline facing west have legal street parking that faces west, which requires access through Alley 9 going South," Marcum said, adding the change would force some homeowners to "make a dangerous 3-point turn in the street, park illegally or drive all the way around using Alley 12 and unmarked Alley making it difficult to see cars coming up Chapline St."
The minutes note that other alternatives were discussed; options included designating the alley for "Resident Use Only" instead of making it one-way and placing a "Do Not Enter" sign on Main Street at Alley 9. The transcript does not attribute those alternatives to a specific council member or staff speaker.
Town attendance recorded at the start of the hearing included Mayor Russell Weaver, Vice Mayor Jacob Martz, and Councilmembers Ed Beeler and Joseph Kudla; Councilmembers John Hammond, Mia Parsons and Robbie Waters were listed as absent. Town Administrator Debra A. Smith and Zoning Administrator Tim Lung (participating by video) were also noted as present. The hearing record in the transcript ends with the public hearing being closed at 6:25 p.m.; no motion, vote, or council direction on the Alley 9 proposal is recorded in the provided transcript.
The issue matters to nearby residents because it would change normal access patterns to on-street parking, potentially requiring curbside maneuvers or longer detours for households on Chapline Street. The council did not announce a decision date in the transcript; next steps, if any, were not recorded.
The public hearing was the formal opportunity for residents to comment on the proposed traffic change; the transcript does not record any formal motion to adopt the one-way change or to take other immediate action.
