Batesville, IN –Hillcrest Avenue in Batesville between Main and Walnut could become a no-parking zone if a proposal from City Councilman Jim Fritsch gets the green light.
Fritsch – who outlined the plan at Monday night’s city council meeting – says Hillcrest is the first crossing drivers come upon from the north side of town off Walnut Street.
“For some reason, because it’s a cross street, we get a lot of people cutting over to Main Street and then to the downtown area. With the street being narrower than most of the other city streets – it’s only about 17 or 19 feet wide – if someone parks on that street, it literally turns it into a one-way lane coming in from one direction,” Fritsch said.
Hillcrest is used by school buses and delivery trucks, and Fritsch considers the combination of a narrow street with parking on one side a safety issue.
“I’m trying to alleviate that potential head-on collision,” he added. “I’m not asking for anything different than what’s on the other side of Hillcrest, which is 75 feet of no parking lanes on the more open side of the road. I’m just proposing that. But since Hillcrest is so short on that road, if it goes 75 feet and you come the other way off of Main, it’s virtually going to make the whole street non-parking.”
The city will send a letter to affected homeowners, and since this would represent a change to the traffic code, City Attorney Doug Wilson will draft an ordinance for council’s consideration next month.
