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ALAMOUSA – In response to public comments, the city council decided on Wednesday to make some changes to the design of the city center. After meeting with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), city staff on Wednesday presented a plan that included moving parking blocks closer to their respective curbs by one foot. According to the report, the net effect would be a net gain of 1.5 feet adding three feet in total. The city council adopted the measure unanimously.
The measure was presented by City Manager Heather Brooks, who had a meeting a week earlier with Regional Director of Transportation Julie Constan and Director of Traffic and Safety Program Jennifer Allison, both of CDOT.
Brooks was sure to let people know that the tracks, which were 11 feet wide before the new design and 11 feet wide, would remain the same. The main change would be to provide more parking space to give parked cars more peace of mind. According to the recommendation, the parking blocks would be moved one foot and the parking strips would be cut off a half foot closer to the parking blocks, which would remove the parking lot one and a half feet from traffic. A second strip will be added to further separate the parking spaces from the traffic lane.
The proposed adjustments did not stop there. It was also recommended to further cover old scratches with an anti-fog sealer, a light coating of oil used for pavement treatment. The plan also included redesigning the east entrance to Main Street to correct the paint fading.
Another change requested by meeting attendees is American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant parking. The newly approved plan would add 6 new downtown ADA compliant spaces that would be added to the 20 existing spaces in the 6 blocks that make up the downtown area.
Another issue discussed at Wednesday’s meeting was snow removal. Brooks said the same procedure would be used as before, meaning snow trucks would plow north and city crews would take care of it from there. Brooks indicated that the snow removal of the activated space between the parking blocks and the sidewalk will be experimental. City staff would try out snowblowers and other equipment as soon as the snow first arrives to determine what works best.
Still to come, pedestrian crossing signs as well as orientation signs. Pedestrian signs should be installed before the end of the year and orientation signs are planned for the spring thaw.
Also highlighted at Wednesday’s meeting, according to the model traffic code, vehicles must be parked within a foot of the sidewalk or risk being slipped to the side. Also covered by the highway code, it is up to the parked vehicle to check for oncoming traffic before opening its doors – which was a similar issue in the previous design when it came to the cycle lane.
With the unanimous support of council, the CDOT and city staff are ready to begin work as soon as possible, which means there could be road closures on Main Street.
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