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Ashland to look at parking options By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Relief may be in sight for library patrons and residents who�ve had trouble parking on Gresham Street. Anticipating construction of a 17,000-square-foot library expansion, a traffic consultant hired by the city has developed five options that could add as many as 13 parking spaces along the street, which runs in between Evo�s Java House and the Ashland Public Library. Public Works Director Paula Brown will present the options to the City Council at 7 tonight at the Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St. The council is expected to prioritize the options tonight, but no construction date has been set. Gresham, a neighborhood collector street, is currently a two-lane street with two-way travel and parallel parking on the west side. The various improvement options include widening the street, making it one-way, adding diagonal parking, moving parking to the other side and doing nothing at all. "All of them work," Brown said. "There are definitely ... some concerns with the diagonal parking." She is recommending that the council abandon the diagonal parking option, which presents hazards to bicyclists and motorists when vehicles back out of the spaces. The other options the council will be asked to consider include: Leaving the street as it is, with 15 parallel parking spaces on the west side. Moving parking to the east side so pedestrians would not need to cross the street to get to their parked cars. The number of spaces drops to 13. Widening the street 4 to 8 feet to provide 21 total parallel spaces on both sides. Limiting the street to one-way travel with 28 total parallel spaces on both sides. Independent of the parking options, the city is planning to construct sidewalk "bump outs" at the intersection of Gresham and Main streets that would shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians, Brown said. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.