Public hearing on Royal City parking revision Oct. 5

ROYAL CITY — The Royal City City Council will hold a public hearing Oct. 5 on a proposal to eliminate parking on the north side of Poplar Street Northeast.

The proposal follows development of additional housing on Poplar Street, and more traffic as a result.

City finance director Shilo Christensen said improvements made as part of the Hargraves Street Development also affected traffic on Poplar.

The Reino Del Cielo Apartments are on the south side of Poplar, and the Hargraves Street Development is on the north side. Developers added sidewalks to the north side of Poplar Street as part of the Hargraves project. Effectively the sidewalk narrowed the street, he said, although it’s still wide enough for two cars to pass.

“It (Poplar Street) is not as wide as it used to be,” Christensen said.

That prompted a series of discussions at council meetings of the options for Poplar Street, including one at the Sept. 7 meeting. Council members decided to pursue parking revisions on the street, with the public hearing as the first step. If public reaction is positive, the council would consider a traffic revision ordinance at a subsequent meeting.