Residents Urge Council to Address Virginia Street Width

Virginia Street residents have asked the Town Council to address the width of the south side street.

Chris Consales and Mario Scollo, Virginia Street residents, addressed the Council Tuesday night about what they characterized as the narrowness of the road. They said measurements they conducted show the two way road to be 24 feet in width, decreasing to 10 feet when two cars are parked opposite of each other. They said the narrowness causes a safety hazard for residents and children on the street, including questions of whether emergency vehicles can travel down the road. The duo asked for the town government to address the issue.

"What we're sking is if you could send someone down with knowledge of these things," Scollo said.

Town Engineer Kris McAloon explained that roads are designed with several factors taken into account. This includes the location of the street, is the street a main or secondary road and the amount of residents living on the street. He said he has been made aware of the narrowness of the street and has been approached by fire officials with questions about whether a fire truck can travel down the narrow road.

McAloon said that there are several things that can be done to address the width issue, with the easiest being to ban parking on one side of the street. McAloon said it would likely be tough for the town to widen the street, noting that this would involve taking over land from residents' front yards.

"I am not sure if the Council will consider the widening," McAloon said.

Councilwoman Joann Neylan, the chairwoman of the public safety committee, said her committee will be taking up the Virginia Street issue at the next meeting. She said this will include a discussion on whether or not to limit parking to one side of the street. The meeting will include discussions with McAloon and police and fire officials about what would be the best for Virginia Street residents.

In addition to the public safety comittee meeting on the subject, Third Ward Councilman Mark Ciarrooca told Scollo and Consales that he and his third ward counterpart, Councilman Dave Haas, will be conducting neighborhood outreach meetings to discuss the issue with residents.

"Maybe there is something we could do," Ciarrocca said.