RELATED: New Carlisle businesses concerned about loss of parking downtown
Many residents and downtown businesses owners have made it known over the past few weeks that they don’t approve of the plan. Several stores have “Save the Downtown, Keep our Parking Spaces” signs in their windows.
“The main concern is losing the 30-plus parking places due to the fact that it would have a huge impact on the businesses,” said Michael Maxwell, who owns Arrowhead Tax Service in downtown New Carlisle. “My business is on a corner and that would leave me with one or two spots.
A city-owned public parking lot is available downtown, but Maxwell has said previously that it’s far for seniors or people with disabilities or a safety concern for customers at night.
“There will be no place to park right in front of the place they are going to or close by,” he said.
MORE: Community News for Springfield, Enon, Urbana, New Carlisle
Mayor Mike Lowery didn’t return phone calls seeking comment and City Manager Randy Bridge declined comment until the public comment phase of the project is finished on July 17.
The project would be paid for by a more than $650,000 grant from the Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee. If the changes are more than the grant amount, the city would be responsible for the remainder.
The plan is just one proposal and can be changed, ODOT Environmental Coordinator Tricia Bishop told the Springfield News-Sun. There’s been confusion about who’s in charge of the project, she said, and who will make the final decisions. They city will be the entity to decide if the project is moving forward.
ODOT is helping the city make sure it follows the law, Bishop said, because federal money would be spent on the project.
The city and ODOT held a meeting last week to get input from residents and those who attended said many people were against the plan.
“I would say everybody was against it,” New Carlisle City Council Member Ethan Reynolds said.
READ MORE: Summer, fun events come to New Carlisle this weekend
Reynolds has been against the project from the start. He doesn’t believe city council will pass the proposal.
“People’s opinions matter to us,” Reynolds said. “We are going to let the elected officials decide.”
This option should have never been proposed, he said, because it’s bad for business and bad for the city.
“The buck stops at us,” Reynolds said.
New Carlisle City Council Member Jim Leathley also said he doesn’t believe council will approve the project.
“We do not want to take the parking away,” Leathley said. “In our discussions there have not been one council member that is in favor of that.”
He said the proposal came from the state and he looks forward to working with officials to make sure the city can upgrade its traffic lights without negatively impacting its citizens.
By Numbers
$650,000: The estimated cost of a proposal to install new traffic lights and a right-turn lane in downtown New Carlisle
30: Parking spots that could be eliminated if turn lanes are implemented.
2019-2020: The years construction would take place.
Continuing coverage
The Springfield News-Sun first brought you the story about how parking spots are at risk in New Carlisle on June 1 and will continue to follow the story through the public comment period and how the city decides to move forward.
About the Author