BERLIN — Local merchants have proposed a designated loading and unloading zone on Pitts Street in Berlin to combat issues associated with growing traffic congestion.
The town’s parking issues are complicated and involve more than just the need for extra delivery space, according to the Mayor and Council. Parking glitches also extend beyond Pitts Street and while the council wants to see a solution in the near future the elected officials believe reform starts with the merchants.
Bill Outten and Walter Dennison, both shop owners in Berlin, approached the council Monday with a request for a designated loading and unloading zone on Pitts Street.
“It’s gotten so congested that it’s really hard for the dealers to get in and out of that area because of the traffic coming through,” Outten said.
Street parking, even during the week, can be scarce, making it tough for stores to receive their deliveries. The council acknowledged that it is a real issue but not just for Pitts Street. Whether or not one believes that Berlin is going through the “Renaissance” that officials have suggested, the town has seen an undeniable boom in businesses recently, including several new high-traffic restaurants.
This has made balancing parking needs tougher than ever, something which some merchants are exacerbating, according to Dennison. A few of his fellow business owners have been a bit greedy by repeatedly parking their personal vehicles for the entire day on the street outside of the shops, he claimed, space which is needed by customers and the occasional delivery truck.
“These are our fellow business people who have offended me because they fight for the spot in front of my store,” Dennison said. “They have Main Street locations and pull into those spots on a regular basis.”
Though he often talks about how proud he is of town merchants for putting aside competition for cooperation, Mayor Gee Williams admitted Dennison was right and that some businesses owners seem to treat parking like the Wild West.
“They’ve cooperated on every level except for the parking. On parking, they still have a little attitude of the cutthroat,” said the mayor.
It’s an issue that has existed well before Berlin saw its most recent growth spike. The argument over merchants taking street parking and worsening already crowded conditions has been waged nearly every other month for at least the last decade, said Michael Day, director of Community and Economic Development.
Most vendors have gotten onboard with the idea that they need to leave street space open as much as possible even if it means a brisk walk from where they park to their shop. But others have been reluctant, Day told the council, cooperating when asked but sliding back into bad habits eventually.
This is why the town needs a loading and unloading zone, argued Outten, as well as stricter enforcement in areas where there is only two-hour street parking. He attributed the issue to not just merchants but some apartment renters who also rush to take street parking for the entire day.
However, Williams hopes that the matter can be resolved internally within the merchant community. If an amicable solution can’t be reached, the mayor said the council would likely have to step in.
There are a number of factors to consider in addition to a possible loading and unloading zone. The town will have to look at whether Pitts Street might function better as a one-way street, how to better enforce parking time limits and generally improving attitudes on the subject.
Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing advised merchants struggling with delivery issues to try to get drop-offs made earlier in the day before streets become crowded.