Business may benefit from parking change

Angled parking will be on Park Avenue and High and Market streets.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Diagonal parking will replace parallel parking on parts of three downtown streets this spring, Mayor Michael O'Brien announced Wednesday.
The mayor said he was making the changes at the request of the business community, and he hopes the diagonal parking will cause traffic to slow down to accommodate people backing out of the angled spaces.
"This is something that the city is offering to the business community," the mayor said, adding that the change will make downtown "more business-friendly." Handicapped spaces at curb cuts will be included among the diagonal spaces, the mayor said.
Diagonal parking will be installed permanently on both sides of High Street between Park and Seneca avenues, reducing the number of travel lanes in that section of High Street from four to two. The angled parking will result in an increase from 19 to 24 parking spaces in that section of High Street.
Angled parking will also be installed permanently on the west side of Park Avenue at Courthouse Square, resulting in an increase on that side of the street from 13 to 19 spaces.
Because of the narrowness of Park Avenue, installing angled parking there will require an eight-foot cut into Courthouse Square Park, the mayor said.
Trial period
Diagonal parking will be installed for a one-year trial period on part of the north side of Market Street along Courthouse Square, with the police department monitoring its impact on traffic flow and the number of accidents that occur there, the mayor said.
"On Market Street, we'll be going to one westbound lane, feathered into two westbound lanes mid-block," resulting in a decline from 17 to 15 parking spaces on the north side of the street, O'Brien said.
The angled parking on Market Street will extend west from Park Avenue to a point just beyond mid-block because two westbound lanes are needed to accommodate through traffic and turning traffic where Market Street intersects with Main and Mahoning avenues at the west end of Courthouse Square, the mayor explained.
That intersection is one of the busiest in the city, with 14,000 vehicles going through it in a typical eight-hour period, the mayor said.
Angled parking on High Street is primarily designed for the convenience of those doing business with government offices and to free up other spaces for customers of downtown businesses, O'Brien said.
The mayor estimated the cost to the city of initiating angled parking at about $40,000, including curb cut installation, removal of a section of park lawn and some small trees and parking area resurfacing.
The mayor made his decision on where to install angled parking after receiving a report from a downtown parking study prepared by Walker Parking Consultants of Kalamazoo, Mich.