Downtown Parking is Still Available, with Some Help
Barbara Crimond | Feb 16, 2018 | Comments 0
The core commercial area for downtown Lamar along South Main Street, between Oak and Beech is now impacted by the road and water main construction performed by American Civil Constructors. Now that their first phase of road work between Park and Oak has been completed, they’ve moved on to the second phase which is expected to take several months.
As before, the median is being removed as well as dirt and asphalt. The one difference for this segment of road work is the number of retail stores and businesses that are being impacted. At the moment there is no parking on either side of South Main which has been divided in two by the concrete safety barriers which will protect the construction workers. This also means shoppers cannot park directly on Main Street and access to one-way traffic on one lane has also been temporarily closed to motorists. Even pedestrians have to go-around to cross downtown Lamar.
There is parking access off 4th and 5th Streets to the east and west of Main Street, but you have to know where to look and determine which area is private parking and what is available for the public. Most businesses such as The Lassie, Flower Boutique, Guaranty Abstract and Brase Insurance offer customer entrances from the rear, but parking is limited. Frontier Bank is allowing customers to park in their lot just east of SECED on West Elm Street after business hours, Farm Credit and Robinson Printing is opening space in their private lots as well through the day.
The eastern businesses in the 100 block of South Main Street have parking lots to their rear and customers can either enter through those available rear doors or go through the Pocket Park to reach the sidewalk. Quiznos has available parking and the Lamar Chamber of Commerce and Welcome Center also offer extra parking spots as well as East and West Beech Streets.
There is public parking available where West Beech and South 5th Street intersect. Residents can also find parking space in the lot due east of the Prowers County Courthouse. The ‘road closed’ signs on West Elm and Olive pertain to access to Main Street. Motorists can still park on those roads, but should be cautious about turn-around space and on-coming traffic.
Some alleyways behind the downtown stores are single, one-way lanes in which traffic usually travels from the south to the north on the west side of Main. Motorists need to slow down as more people are expected to use the alleys to enter and exit shops, consumers and employees alike.
Angie Cue, Lamar’s Community Development Director, said she’ll be in contact with the City of Lamar to determine if road striping will be available to help direct traffic in the right directions.
By Russ Baldwin
Filed Under: City of Lamar • Consumer Issues • Environment • Events • Featured • Law Enforcement • Public Safety • Transportation
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