At the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety meeting this week, Street Superintendent Jim Marquardt received permission to install signage on Gary Drive, near Love’s Travel Stop.
Superintendent Marquardt asked board members to allow him to put up no parking signs in that area to keep semi-trucks from parking vehicles on the roadway. He said the problem became the most apparent when they ran into trouble plowing streets due to the abundance of trucks parked on the road, rather than in the lot. Mayor Mark Senter commented that it should be common sense for people not to park there, but agreed that something should be done to prevent future problems. The request received unanimous approval from board members.
Board members also continued discussion about problems with parking on Plum Street. There have been several complaints about individuals parking along that road, making it difficult for two way traffic to travel down it. Members of the EMS and the Fire and Police Departments also reported safety concerns with the congested area, stating that should they need to get somewhere in a hurry utilizing that road, it would be hard to accomplish with the way things are currently.
Several solutions were posed; Superintendent Marquardt suggested painting lines to address the problems with space and alleviate any uncertainty about acceptable parking spots, another consideration came up to eliminate parking in certain sections or all together, while others proposed shortening the curb to expand the road.
Mayor Senter suggested having Superintendent Marquardt and City Engineer Rick Gaul take a look at the layout of Plum Street to come up with some feasible options to address the concerns. After some discussion, members decided to leave the consideration as is.
Though no official action was taken on this matter at Wednesday’s meeting, it will be readdressed in the future after the street superintendent and the city engineer have time to come up with possible solutions to address the safety concerns.
