McMinnville officials will not restrict parking on Court Square to allow easier access to Main Street for trucks and trailers coming up Depot Bottom Street.
A joint meeting of the Safety Committee and Streets and Sanitation Committee was held Tuesday night. Aldermen Rick Barnes, Billy Wood, Jimmy Bonner and Mike Neal voted unanimously to make no changes to parking.
Bringing the item under consideration two weeks ago was Bonner, who said he had received complaints from people who had a hard time making the right turn from Depot Bottom Street onto Court Square while pulling a trailer.
At that time, Bonner recommended making two to three of the parking spaces “no parking” from 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mayor Jimmy Haley was asked to meet with area business owners to see how they felt about the idea.
Haley reported that losing parking spaces during peak business hours received a negative response.
“They were all sympathetic to the request, but they didn’t want to lose parking places,” said Haley. “They said during court days, there isn’t a single place to park. Eliminating two or three more parking places from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. is their business hours.”
Currently, there is a sign at the corner of Depot Bottom Street and Colville Street that informs motorists no trucks are allowed.
Bonner asked about the possibility of adding trailers to that sign.
“There is no sign that says no two-axle trailers, for instance 16-foot trailers,” said Bonner. “When that cattle trailer came up there and got hooked on that bollard, there is no sign that says no trailers allowed. Is there anything we can put up?”
McMinnville Public Works director Bill Brock says he remembers the cattle trailer incident.
“He could have made it if he had a little more patience,” said Brock. “I went down there right after it happened and asked him why he kept pulling when he should have stopped. He said he thought he could roll over it. He should have backed off, but he didn’t.”
When Bonner said a wider area to make a bigger swing would have prevented the incident, Brock said, “You don’t need to be downtown pulling a cattle trailer. I’m sorry. That’s not what downtown was built for. It was made for pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic.”
Neal then made the motion to leave the parking spaces unchanged, which was accepted.