Talkeetna's Main Street parking committee looks at solutions

The Main Street Parking committee of the Talkeetna Community Council continues to hash out ideas that might improve the parking situation in downtown Talkeetna.

The committee was established as a response to issues that arose last summer and continuing problems with parking in west Talkeetna.  A long list of perceived problems continues to be examined at each meeting.

Tuesday evening there was discussion on the trees that have taken over the right of way near the end of Main Street, forcing residents and guests to park in areas that they normally would not park if the trees weren’t there.

The group discussed the possibility of making all alleys no parking zones and posting them as fire lanes. Fire Chief Ken Farina was present at the meeting and agreed that alleys need to be clear of parked vehicles in case of emergencies.

Discussion ensued on parking around and near the Village park.  Efforts will be made once the snow melts to replace broken bollards and missing rope from the boundary of the park.

Problems arising from diagonal parking along C Street were discussed.  Some residents have had near misses with other vehicles and incidents with small children playing between cars.  Methods to encourage parallel parking along that street were discussed.

Street washing and re-painting of lines is set to occur in late April or early May.  Residents need to look and listen for announcements as to when they need to assist the fire department in temporarily removing signs and vehicles in order to help expedite effort.