McMinnville To Consider New Downtown Parking To Address Traffic Issues

McMinnville Public Works Department hoping to address issues in its downtown area through a new parking format.

Director Frank Southard said there have been complaints of drivers going the wrong way up Spring Street near Main Street. He said part of the street is two-way because of the bank that has a drive-thru. To fix this, Southard said he came up with the idea to put in parallel parking on one side so cars would not have the ability to drive in that direction.

“It’s kind of a safety issue, plus we’ll get at least six more parking places downtown,” Southard said. “And that’s one thing that we’re struggling with in big events is the parking places. So that will help out a little.”

Southard said the idea will go before the Safety Committee for approval on Tuesday. He said if it is approved by both the committee and the board itself, he will then move to begin work on the project.

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Southard said the work does not require major construction. He said it will mostly entail painting the new six parallel spots, creating a turn lane and a through-land, and making changes to the stop light.