Dunklin Street traffic too crowded for many

One short block of Dunklin Street in Cape Girardeau resembles a demolition derby with parked cars on both sides of the street getting sideswiped by passing vehicles, some residents say.

The majority of residents whose small homes line the street want the city council to remove on-street parking on the north side of Dunklin between Perry and Penny avenues. More than 1,600 vehicles travel through that area daily, according to the city's latest traffic count.

A proposed ordinance will be considered by the council at its Jan. 5 meeting.

Many of the owners and renters of houses on the north side of the street have access to an alley. Others say they could park in their driveways or across the street.

Paul Davis, who lives on the south side of the block, said accidents are a regular occurrence. The gate to the chain-link fence in front of his house at 1737 Dunklin is dented. It resulted from a traffic accident involving a drunken driver.

Some renters and visitors park their cars on the sidewalk rather than risk having their vehicles hit, Davis said. That happens even though there are signs along the street prohibiting parking on the sidewalks.

But police say there have only been eight traffic accidents in that neighborhood over the past two years. "It is not an exorbitant amount," police chief Steve Strong said.

Davis claims there are far more accidents than the police records show.

Mildred Hartle has lived at 1724 Dunklin since 1962. She parks her car in her driveway. But parked cars on the street and the volume of traffic have created a safety problem, she said.

Davis said cars line the street on both sides in the early morning and at night. Many of the parked cars on the street are those of Southeast Missouri State University college students who live in rental houses, he said.

The street makes a jog in the block just to the west of the neighborhood, forcing eastbound motorists to veer just to keep from driving in the middle of the street once they cross Penny Avenue, Davis said.

City engineer Mark Lester said the 30-foot wide street isn't narrow by city standards.

Typically a street must be less than 28 feet wide to garner restricted street parking in the city of Cape Girardeau.

But Davis said policy or no policy, the street isn't wide enough when lined with parked cars to handle the passing traffic.

Owners and renters associated with 15 of the 20 properties in the neighborhood have petitioned for the parking change.

Nineteen of 24 property owners and five of seven renters in the neighborhood support the proposed parking ban, city officials said.

Davis said motorists regularly speed through the neighborhood where the posted speed limit is 30 mph. But city manager Doug Leslie said a recent traffic study found the average speed was 26 mph.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123