Pacific Post Office, 324 West St. Louis Street, Screen grab. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
By Pauline Masson –
A proposed ordinance – requested by the Emergency Management Director – that banned parking on three sides of the Pacific Post Office, alarmed downtown residents who said the ban created more safety concerns than it might help.
The former bank building at 324 West St. Louis Street and its parking lot cover the entire block from St. Louis to Union Street and From Second to Third Street.
It was said the ban was intended as a public safety measure to aid truck driver entering and leaving the post office parking area.
Downtown residents and St. Bridge of Kildare parishioners said eliminating the parking places would impact downtown property owners, families attending St. Bridget Church, and students attending St. Bridget Catholic School bd would place an undue hardship on handicapped persons.
North Second Street between St. Bridget Catholic School and St. Bridge Church. Screen grab. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Renee Myers, St. Bridget business manager said the changes for Second Street would have a huge negative impact on parish activities at the church and the school daily.
“We’re not talking once in a while we’re not talking special events we are talking daily. Our children cross the street in a designated crosswalk that is on a huge slope and a hill,”She said. “And they do that daily when they go to Mass as part of St. Bridget of Kildare.”
“We were really surprised that Saint Bridget wasn’t even approached prior to receiving a copy of the proposed bill three weeks ago by Alderwoman Karla Stewart, “ She added.
North First resident Emily Devine said the no parking would Create a special hardship for handicapped individuals.
“The entire campus is on a hill. For those of us blessed to not have limited mobility, it is inconvenient. For those who have mobility issues, parking and entering the church is a struggle,” she said. “Without parking on the street near the church, that struggle changes from difficult to prohibitive.”
“Why would we do this? “Robertsville resident Paul Fisher asked.” My parents went to St. Bridget’s. I went to St. Bridget’s. My kids went to St. Bridget’s. And my families have been here since probably the 19-teens and attended that church. So I feel like I have a little bit of standing here.”
“If you want to look at a safety concern. The safety concern is taking semis up and down through a street where there are two crosswalks and children going across those crosswalks at various times of the day.”
Mr. Fisher said he was glad the post office got a new building, “but they also should be made to abide by the rules too and and for them to keep us safe and keep the children safe,” he said.
“I want to thank whichever alderman brought this information to the school ,” he added.”Otherwise we would have known nothing about it.”
Aldermen voted 6-0 to deny passage of the bill, which is not to say parking ban dead.
After a lengthy discussion of maybe voting the bill down and sending it to committee, aldermen came to no clear agreement on which committee should review the bill – or that it definitely would go to committee. So, the no parking bill, or some version of it, could resurface.
What about between the post office and Camila’s? Can people no longer park along North 3rd alongside their building? Or the Post Office and Brown Jerry’s?
I would think the Post Office knows when they get their trucks in and out, and perhaps there could be a compromise of no street parking at certain hours. I certainly would not want semis going down 2nd Street when schoolkids are about, but what is wrong with the drivers using the commercial streets, like First and St. Louis to get there, except for the last turn? How will Bridget manage funeral lineups?
I wonder if the Emergency Management Director has been to the St. Bridget’s Fish Fry the last few weeks.
I don’t eat there– I always get carryout, and have had to park on 2nd Street a time or two to run in the bottom at the school cafeteria, where they do the carryout pickups. Since it is on a different level than the school parking lot, It would be a pain to have to walk around the building, or through and down and up the steps carrying carryout. No doubt they make big bucks out of those fundraisers.
MAIL’S DISPATCHED, PICKED UP/DROPPED OFF, 24/7, ABOUT EVERY 3 HOURS, LIKE CLOCKWORK.
IT’S CALLED POOR OR NO CITY MANAGEMENT. WHERE’S CITY PLANNING/ZONING? MAYBE DON’T GO YEARS WITHOUT CITY ADMINISTRATOR? DON’T LET THOSE WITH CONFLICTS OF INTEREST MAKE DECISIONS AFFECTING THE CITY?
ALL THESE BUILDINGS/BUSINESSES/LOTS HAVE CODES, CAPACITIES, MAXES, ETC. ALL HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE CARS, EMPLOYEE’S AND CLIENTELE’S.
IT WAS MYERS WHO HAD THE AGENDA AND DID THE HARD SELL TO GET THE POST OFFICE TO MOVE AND TAKE THE OLD BANK BUILDING LOCATION.
MAIL ARRIVES ALL NITE TO BE DELIVERED THE NEXT DAY. BIG RIGS MANEUVER IN THE DARK, IN ALL TYPES OF WEATHER, ON A RIGGED LOT, A RIGGED STREET/CORNER WITH A CONCRETE PATIO IN THE MIDDLE OF A PUBLIC STREET, WITH A BRICK WALL AROUND IT, WITH CONCRETE BUMPERS AROUND IT, AND THEN, TO CTAs, THE CITY SUNK STOP SIGNS, IN CONCRETE AND PUT THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET! THAT SAME BUSINESS TAKES UP 2ND ST. SIDE WITH IT’S SMOKER!
HOW DOES A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS OPERATE WITH ZERO PARKING FOR IT’S CUSTOMERS? CUSTOMERS TAKE UP EVERY OTHER BUSINESS’S PARKING SPOTS ON THE BLOCK BECAUSE ONE BIZ PROVIDES NONE.
PARKING WAS, ALREADY, LIMITED DOWNTOWN.
TODAY, PEOPLE ARE STANDING IN THE STREET TALKING TO THOSE ON THE PATIO AND THERE’S A 2 YR OLD, STANDING IN THE STREET WHILE HER DAD TALKS OVER THE WALL TO SOMEONE ON THE PATIO. TINY LIL GIRL, DAD’S NOT PAYING ATTENTION, PROBABLY HAD A FEW DRINKS, RUNNING HIS MOUTH WHILE HIS KID’S IN THE STREET.
DRUNKS COMING OUT OF JERRY’S AND CAMILLA’S, AND TRACTOR TRAILERS IN AND OUT DOING THEIR JOB, ALL NITE LONG.
EMERGENCY MGMT? WHERE WAS HE AT OTHER P.O.? WHERE WAS HE WHEN PATIO WENT IN PUBLIC STREET? WHERE WAS HE PRIOR TO P.O. MOVE?
I COMPLAINED, ASAP, ABOUT PATIO IN STREET, AND, AGAIN, PRIOR TO P.O. MOVE, ABOUT TRACTOR TRAILERS BEING IN PERIL MANEUVERING AROUND MULTIPLE CORNERS, ROAD BLOCKAGES/PATIO/SIGNS IN STREET. I’M RETIRED FROM THE P.O.
THAT’S HOW PATHEITIC P&Z IS, OR, SOMEBODY GOT PAID. HOW MANY YRS OF THAT MESS AND NOTHING’S BEEN DONE? NOT ONE PERSON KNOWS RIGHT FROM WRONG IN THE CITY? YOU CAN’T PERMANENTLY BLOCK A LANE OF A PUBLIC STREET!
AND EMPTYING BLOCKS IS THIS GENIUS’S FIRST RECOURSE? HOW ABOUT GET THE PERSONAL CRAP OUT OF THE PUBLIC STREET? THE PATIO, WALL, FENCE, BUMPERS, STOP SIGNS, ETC., NOTHING BELONGS IN THE STREET BUT VEHICLES!!
TRY REGULATING THE OFFENDERS.
HAVE A CITY PLAN AND MAINTAIN IT RATHER THAN MAKING DECISIONS BECAUSE SOMEBODY PROFITS.
IN 10 YRS, THE CITY WENT FROM DOWNTOWN, TO OSAGE, TO BACK DOWNTOWN, ZERO PLAN.
AND THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE TRYING TO FORCE DATA CENTERS DOWN OUR THROATS.