Employees and customers of businesses on Creek Trail Drive will be able to continue using on-street parking after several property and business owners voiced objections to a proposal to strip that ability.
At the Jefferson City Transportation and Traffic Commission meeting Wednesday, city staff presented a proposal to remove street parking from Creek Trail Drive, from just south of Edgewood Drive to the new intersection at Lecar Drive. City Engineer David Bange said since the extension of Creek Trail Drive to Missouri 179 was recently completed, the road would see an additional 600 cars per day, which "raises concerns of congestion, delay, and the safety of turning vehicles."
"We're increasing traffic by 25 percent roughly overnight," Bange said.
With the parking removed, Bange said the city would switch the street to a three-lane road, with one lane in each direction and a center lane for left turns.
Bange said there is a minimum of 24 businesses on Creek Trail Drive. The city received written responses from five of them; and four representatives of businesses and properties attended Wednesday's meeting to speak against the proposal.
Dick Otke said he was representing six properties on the street. Otke said he built the street years ago with the intention of allowing street parking on both sides after receiving assurances from both city and county officials that it would not be needed to be used as a connector to Missouri 179 and Frog Hollow Road.
"We built the street 38 feet wide to accommodate parking on both sides of the street," Otke said. "I think it would be a great detriment to quite a few folks (to take it away)."
Otke said each property on the street was built to either meet or exceed city parking requirements at the time, but the street parking is still needed to accommodate overflow needs.
Jim Hoffman, volunteer manager for the River City Habitat for Humanity ReStore, said the store draws people from five or six counties away and there are times when the street parking is "critical to our operation."
Kim Marshall, owner of Marshall and Company Hair Design Studio, said the street parking is used by both customers and employees, noting close to six of her own employees use the street parking.
"It would be a major detriment to us," Marshall said of the proposal. "I don't know where else we'd park."
After some discussion by commissioners, a motion was approved to eliminate parking only from the new section of Creek Trail Drive that begins just south of Portabello Place Drive.