DIXFIELD – The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Monday evening to designate the north side of Coburn Avenue as a “no parking” zone in response to safety concerns.
Resident Sonya Fuller told selectmen she was concerned about the number of cars parking along Coburn Avenue during activities at Marble Park.
“I walked up and down the street last night and counted 44 cars parked on both sides of the street,” Fuller said, “and that was with only one game being held. What happens is people have been parking on the sidewalk, so that no one can walk on it. People end up having to walk in the middle of the street. People park on both sides, which makes it hard for emergency vehicles to get through.”
Fuller said she has talked with residents on Coburn Avenue who have also complained about drivers parking vehicles and blocking driveways, or leaving garbage strewn across the street after games.
Police Chief Richard Pickett told the selectmen, “This is not a new issue. The last time we tried dealing with this issue, the sitting board was adamant that they wanted the people to be able to park there, and as long as you could get an emergency vehicle up the street, it was OK.”
“My opinion on the matter, which hasn’t changed since then, is that you vote to make parking on only one side of the street, and make the other side restricted parking,” Pickett said. “We would be lenient with people for the first couple of weeks. We’d warn them or leave notes, letting them know that they can’t park on one side of the street. After that, all bets are off. They would get tickets, and they would get towed.”
Pickett said that while there’s “no good public parking” for people to use, there’s a “big parking lot behind the high school.
“It takes a little exercise to walk from there to Marble Park, but there’s plenty of room,” Pickett said. “People just don’t seem to want to park in the back side of that building. I don’t know why. All I know is that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say, ‘Well, I want to do something about this, but I don’t really want to cause any problems with it.’ You’ve got to deal with the issue.”
Selectman Hart Daley asked Pickett if he had a preference for which side should be restricted.
“I think that the right-hand side of the street when you drive in, the side where the sidewalks are, is where you should restrict it,” Pickett said. “You just can’t be afraid of making people upset. It’s a safety issue.”
Chairman Mac Gill asked Pickett how many signs would be needed to place on Coburn Avenue.
Pickett said he wasn’t sure, and that it was something that was worth looking into.
“It would be a small amount of money to spend if it meant saving a child’s life,” Daley said.
Daley made a motion to restrict parking on the north side of Coburn Avenue. The board unanimously voted to do so.
In other business, selectmen voted unanimously to appoint the Public Works director and Code Enforcement Officer Calvin Beaumier as the town’s building inspector.
Interim Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky said Beaumier has typically acted as the town’s building inspector, and it went hand-in-hand with his duties as code enforcement officer.
Skibitsky added that Beaumier does not receive an additional stipend for his duties as building inspector.
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- From left, Selectmen Dana Whittemore, Bob Withrow and board Chairman Mac Gill listen to police Chief Richard Pickett (not pictured) discuss his opinions on parking along Coburn Avenue during Monday evening’s meeting.
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