Kent City Council divided on parking for West Main Street bridge

Intro: The city of Kent held a special council meeting Wednesday night, focusing on topics such as parking and the possibility to explore potential parking meters in downtown spaces. While much of the council had different opinions, the council did approve a motion to change parking for the West Main Street bridge. TV2’s Vivian Feke has the story.

 

Tag: Council members did include in the motion a possibility of paid parking meters for the bridge. Meters would be set at a two hour maximum from the hours of 9 am to 5 pm, with a rate of a dollar per hour.

 

The agenda

Kent City Council held a special meeting Wednesday night, and one of the main topics was the parking situation on the West Main Street bridge.

Other topics for discussion included new student housing, parking meters, and towing ordinances.

The main topic of concern for the beginning of the meeting was the parking issue on the West Main Street bridge.

 

Bridge nearing completion

The bridge, under construction since the beginning of this summer, will be completed “any day now,” according to City Manager Dave Ruller.

The West Main Street bridge was slated for completion in August, but could not be completed on time due to the bridge’s condition being worse than projected.

With the demand for parking spaces high in Kent, council members focused on finding a way to potentially add new spaces to the bridge.

Staying consistent

Council members debated how parking should appear on the bridge, and several offered conflicting opinions.

While some council members wanted to change the area and make it look more visually appealing, council woman Heidi Shaffer didn’t agree.

“It’s important to recognize maybe some things should stay the same,” said Shaffer.

Shaffer noted the popularity of the bridge’s surrounding area, which includes areas for residents and tourists to hike, backpack, and kayak. She suggested adding signs to promote the outdoor activities, and voiced her opinion on the importance of parking spaces being available on the bridge.

“Aesthetics need to take a back seat until parking is taken care of.”

-Heidi Shaffer, Ward 5

Debating the issue

Several audience members gave their opinion at the council meeting, hoping to keep parking available on the bridge.

“They [drivers] go there first, it’s the most convenient place to get access to the trails,” said one concerned citizen.

Kent City Council Member Michael DeLeone mentioned a conversation he had earlier in the day with John Idone, Kent’s director of parks and recreation. DeLeone told the council Idone said if the parking is removed, it would be greatly missed by the parks department.

The verdict

After a motion was brought up to change spaces to parallel and potentially add metered spaces, the majority of council voted in favor for the motion.

While Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala said he would rather have no parking on the bridge, he did note the necessity of more parking spots downtown.

Read the full recap from the Kent City Council’s minutes on the Health and Safety Committee below.