(10/10) In a follow-up to a conversation the Council had in June—but took no action on—Commissioner Case proposed that the Town reconsider taking some type of action to reduce the "through" traffic on the town’s many small alleys.
Case recounted that even though only a few people have garage access on his alley, cars are frequently using it as a thoroughfare to get to and from Second Street and Main Street. "It’s not uncommon to hear a car every ten minutes," Case said. "Unfortunately, the main door I use to get into and out of my house is on the alley, and the cars pass so close to that door that if I or the driver are not careful, I could easily be hit."
In June, Case suggested that all the alleys in the Town could be made one way, allowing traffic to flow only off of Main Street. "This would ensure that only the people who actually live on the alley use them." Case reasoned that people who now access the alleys to go from Second Street to Main Street can easily go a block to a "real" street to get to Main Street.
"Some of the alleys in town are really only one car wide, if that," Case said. "I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve pulled into my alley only to have to back out when someone enters it at the far end. If the alleys were only one way, we could eliminate this problem."
Since the suggestion to make the alleys one-way had apparently fallen flat, at the October Council meeting, Case suggested that the Town consider installing mirrors to allow residents to spot oncoming autos without having to step out into the alleys.
Unlike in June, however, the Town Council was more receptive to Case’s concerns and openly debated the pros and cons of how best to restrict traffic and traffic speed in alleys.
Commissioner Cutshall, who is the Town’s Streets’ Commission Liaison, suggested that the Town revisit making some of the alleys one-way, but to alternate the one-way directions.
Burgess Barnes questioned why the speed limit in alleys was 25 mph and suggested that the limit be set at 15 mph and to set up signs on each alley so that violators could be ticketed.
The use of speed bumps was also suggested. Everyone agreed that while that would defiantly put a damper on speeding, they needed to check in with the Town staff on their impacts on snow plowing of the allays.
While no final decision was reached, all the Council members agreed that controlling the number of cars and their speed in alleys was a worthy issue for the Council to address. All agreed to spend time until the Council’s November meeting to
survey residents living along the town alleys and gather opinions, with the intent of settling on a solution at that meeting.
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