WESTBROOK — The City Council will decide at its next meeting whether to pursue a plan designed to improve pedestrian safety on Main Street by eliminating parking places near crosswalks.
“There are times you can’t see a pedestrian because of a car in the way,” said Discover Downtown Westbrook Executive Director Abigail Chioffi, who presented the plan to the council’s Streets and Facilities subcommittee Monday night. “I have a hard time seeing pedestrians myself, and that’s a public safety issue.”
Just as street parking is not allowed immediately before intersections, the proposal seeks to prevent cars from parking immediately before Main Street crosswalks.
The no parking zones would be posted and if given final City Council approval in the next month or so, signs could be installed in the spring.
“There are other things we can do like having the curbs come out like in other places, but that would be down the road,” Cioffi said.
“I appreciate this. … I was hit while crossing the street recently out of state, and it’s a problem,” Council Chairman Gary Rairdon said.
The City Council gave final approval Monday for the Common Threads to use $25,000 in Rock Row TIF funds for business incubator space.
“I want to thank the city for their continued support,” Common Threads founder Dory Waxman said.
The incubator spaces will be located at the Common Threads school at the Dana Warp Mill and will be open to anyone interested in starting a textile business.
The idea is that people using the incubator space would eventually grow their companies into something bigger and might set up their bigger operations at the mill.
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