Franklin Street parking could be limited to one side under city proposal

Westbound vehicles try to navigate their way between parked cars and trucks on Greencastle’s Franklin Street, creating a traffic issue the City Council is monitoring. Although Franklin Street currently allows parking on both sides of the street east of College Avenue to the stoplight at Dairy Castle, that could soon change with a proposal to limit parking to the north side only -- except where there is a recessed parking bay.

Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE

Parking along East Franklin Street in Greencastle appears en route to being restricted to the north side of the roadway following recent City Council discussion.

Although most of Franklin Street east of College Avenue technically allows parking on both sides at present, rarely has that been a problem, except in the area east of Locust Street to Northwood Boulevard.

Several vehicles parking along there, including a number of bigger pickup trucks, restrict the flow of traffic and present a potential hazard.

”It’s come up from time to time but it’s gotten a little worse in recent weeks,” Mayor Bill Dory told the City Council, noting that a “few extra pickup trucks” have been added to the mix due to a construction project of the retaining wall along Locust Street. “So that’s eliminating some parking and we have a few extra pickup trucks parking a little further down.”

Cars and vehicles with trailers have also been noticed parking more regularly along the south side of the street just east of Durham Street.

The mayor has proposed prohibiting parking along the south side of the street from College Avenue to Indianapolis Road, except where there are recessed parking bays.

“It’s a proposed solution to start the discussion,” Dory said. “It’s not carved in stone or anything.”

The north side is the preferred side for one-side-only parking with the sidewalk running along that side.

City Attorney Laurie Hardwick, who noted that City Hall has received “lots of complaints” about the current parking hazards, will prepare an ordinance for the October Council meeting that spells out the one-side-only parking change. It will take two separate readings to pass and adopt the measure.

Meanwhile, City Hall will be attempting to contact persons most directly affected by the restricted parking to gauge their opinion.

City Council members offered their own at the recent September session.

Council President Mark Hammer noted that Franklin Street is a collector street, which means that adjacent neighborhood streets flow into it to move traffic in a timely, orderly fashion.

“It makes a lot of sense to do this,” Hammer said, recalling how the stopsigns at Northwood/Durham Street were turned around a number of years ago to give Franklin Street the right of way. “There’s a line of sight problem there, too.”

Parking on both sides might make sense for a neighborhood street, Hammer said, “but Franklin Street is considered a collector street.”

Councilman Dave Murray can speak from firsthand experience.

“More than once this week I’ve had to stop my car because my lane was blocked,” Murray said. “I’ve had to wait for an oncoming vehicle or two to go by, so it is an issue.”

The morning and end-of-day sun also play into the problem, Councilor Stacie Langdon said. “If you hit it just right, it’s tough to see,” she said. “We’ve got school buses coming through there, too, and I just think we need to do something.”

The proposal also has the backing of the fire chief and city engineer, Mayor Dory noted.

Chief John Burgess has said since there have been more pickups trucks parking there, he has expressed concern about getting GFD emergency vehicles through the area and consequently has been avoiding it.