Aug. 17, 2012 —     Gretta Duncan of Knapp Avenue in Morehead told City Council members Monday that she and her husband “foresaw a problem” with their street many years ago.  

    She said it is time for Council members to do something about it.

    Duncan and 82 other residents signed a petition requesting that each side of Knapp Avenue be painted yellow to make parking illegal from Second Street to the 4-way stop.  

    “When my husband and I remodeled the house we built the garage behind the house and made a circular drive in front,” she said. “Now when there’s anybody in the street it’s hard to get in and out of our driveway.”

    Knapp Avenue resident Sue Wells presented the Council with the group’s petition.  

    Wells told council members that of Knapp, Allen, Lyons, Bays and Wilson avenues, Knapp is the only one where it is legal to park on both sides.  

    “This parking causes problems for everyone, especially service trucks and other large vehicles,” she said in a statement that she presented to the Council, along with the petition.

    “As soon as this petition started circulating, I noticed it got very clear,” added Duncan. “In the last week or two it’s been a dream down there.”

    Council member Glen Teager asked if anyone could explain to him why this petition would keep people from parking on both sides of a street, where parking is legal.

    Wells said she did not know.

    “It is an aggravation but it’s also a safety issue,” she responded, adding, “If I have guests or a meeting I ask, ‘Would you carpool?’”    

    Council member Tom Carew asked Wells if having restricted parking during certain hours would make a difference.

    “That still wouldn’t take care of the safety concerns,” she said.

    “But it would take care of the students, would it not?” Carew asked, referring to Morehead State University and the University of Kentucky medical students who take classes in the Center for Health, Education and Research (CHER) on Second Street.

    “Yes, it would take care of the students,” Wells said.

    Council member Jan Bishop suggested making Knapp Avenue one-way on one side and Allen Avenue one-way coming back down.

    “I don’t think either one of those solutions would satisfy any of these people on the petition,” Wells said.

    Mayor David Perkins, who lives on Knapp Avenue, said he wasn’t aware of any parking-related accidents on the street.

    Robin Mirus, also of Knapp Avenue, is leading a group of residents who are opposing Wells’ petition with a petition of their own that has 32 signatures and states:

    “We, the undersigned request the Mayor and City Council of Morehead to keep the parking on Knapp Avenue as is. The flow of traffic and parking on this street is at a minimum. We feel Knapp Avenue is wide enough to accommodate, and therefore, is not a problem.”

    Mirus told Council members she has lived on Knapp Avenue since 1958 and has always been able to work out problems that came from parking on the street.

    “I just think if we have no parking it will decrease the value of the property,” she told Council members and members of the opposing group.

    Carew suggested finding alternatives, such as speed bumps, before taking action.

    “That’s not what we’re about,” Wells said. “We’re talking about parking.”

    Carew told her Morehead Police Chief Mike Adams and Public Works Director Cecil Cornett should do a more detailed study and make a recommendation at a later date.

    Mayor Perkins said later that Adams and Cornett are already looking into the issue, which is one he is sure will not go away.

    “One individual can make a request,” Perkins said. “If it’s valid, we might take action and we might not. The only time I get to vote is if there’s a tie.”

    Being a Knapp Avenue resident himself, Perkins admits that sometimes the parking situation can be aggravating.

    “But it’s not the end of the world,” he said.

    He said no one disagrees that parking too closely to where an emergency vehicle might need to park can create a problem.

    “If a truck has to push a vehicle out of the way, they’ll do it,” he said. “For example, a fire truck; if somebody’s got it blocked to where they can’t get through, more than likely they’ll force it.”

    In other business, Council passed an ordinance amending an existing ordinance, where concealed weapons are prohibited only in buildings or portions of buildings owned and leased by the city.

    The ordinance reads:

    “All buildings or portions of buildings where the carrying of concealed deadly weapons is prohibited shall be clearly identified by signs posted at the entrance to the restricted area.”

    Nicole Sturgill can be reached at nsturgill@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.