City to discuss traffic lights, parking

Aiken City Council members will discuss two downtown traffic issues during tonight's City Council meeting.

Council members will hear from officials from the S.C. Department of Transportation concerning recent changes to traffic signals downtown.

SCDOT will present a "Plan B" to fix issues that have stemmed from the installation of the new system a week ago. The changes are said to have been done to address safety issues when traveling through downtown; however, many drivers have complained about the congestion the system has created.

Council members will also consider several options presented by the City to handle downtown merchants' on how the two-hour limits are affecting their businesses.

The Downtown Parking Advisory Committee recently met with several downtown merchants to try to come up with a compromise on the issue; however, many business owners still remain divided; some strongly support the parking limits and some strongly disagree with them.

The City's first proposal to Council would keep either two- or four-hour limits on the store fronts on Laurens Street and Richland Avenue from either 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and remove the limits from all other areas. Another proposal would remove the limits altogether. Council could also decided to keep the parking limits in place as they are now.

Council members unanimously approved putting the limits in place in November 2007 after a study found that more than 111 parking spaces were being occupied by vehicles for more than six hours at a time.

Several downtown business owners have said the parking spaces were being held by employees which is why the limits are needed, while others have said business owners should work together to solve the problem on their own without involving the City.

The parking limits were initially enforced on Richland Avenue from Pendleton Street to Newberry Street, Laurens from Barnwell Avenue to Park Avenue and in front of all businesses facing Pendleton, Park, Newberry and Barnwell. City Council members later amended the ordinance and allowed all-day parking on Richland from Laurens to Newberry.

City Council members will meet on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 214 Park Ave. S.W. at 7 p.m.

Contact April Bailey at abailey@aikenstandard.com.