DEBATE OVER JACKSON ONE-WAY PLAN: MORE PARKING VS. CONGESTION

JACKSON -- A proposal to restrict the 100 block of South High Street to one-way traffic has general support among merchants, though the idea has detractors.

The plan was developed by the Jackson Merchants Association in an attempt to increase parking space along the street, which has the downtown's highest concentration of businesses. The plan calls for angle parking on one side of the street and north-south one-way traffic.

About 25 people attended a public hearing on the proposition last week before the Jackson Board of Aldermen. Of the 10 people who spoke, only two opposed the one-way plan.

They were John Siemer, owner of Siemer's Appliance and Service Co., and Terry Reedy, who operates Lloyds bar.

Reedy said the plan does not address Jackson's overall problem of traffic congestion. "I feel it's going to add to the problem," he said.

He thinks most of the South High Street traffic will exit back onto Highway 61 and further aggravate congestion at the Highway 61-East Main Street intersection.

Bob Adams, owner of Adams Appraisal, is a proponent of the plan. "Additional parking is necessary," he said. "The traffic at times when school is out gets rather hectic coming out of the street. This would route school traffic away from here."

Reedy has concerns that delivery trucks would not be able to park in the street as they do now because the proposal calls for vehicles to park at angles on one side of the street, decreasing the its width. But Adams thinks cars still would be able to go around the trucks.

Besides, Adams said, that's the delivery truck drivers' concern. "They're paid to get it to me. We make money by servicing our customers."

Another merchant who concurs with the plan is Jerry Thorne, owner of Jer's restaurant.

"I think it's the best thing Jackson has thought of," he said.

He is not concerned about deliveries. "Deliveries come in the back door," he said.

All the businesses on the street have back doors accessible via an alley.

Reedy wonders if a loading zone could be established on particular days.

At bottom, he thinks parking isn't the problem other merchants think it is. "There are lots of parking lots on the west side of the street and also on the east side," he said.

The problem is that people are unwilling to park in them and walk a block and a half, he said.

Both Adams and Reedy said an offer by the First Baptist Church to allow employees of businesses on the street to use its parking lot a block in the 200 block ought to be pursued. "That's a nice gesture on their part," Adams said.

Members of the Board of Aldermen will discuss their own ideas about the proposal at a study session Monday. City Administrator Steve Wilson said action could come at the board's regular meeting Nov. 1.