Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Council President Alex Wyatt gestures toward a screen showing the intersection of St. Charles Street and Oxmoor Road.
St. Charles Street in Edgewood was again the subject of discussion for the Public Safety Committee of the Homewood City Council.
Councilman Andy Gwaltney, who was absent, submitted a request that the committee consider designating the east side of St. Charles Street that is north of Oxmoor Road a loading zone, thus prohibiting any other parking. Months ago, the committee discussed having some type of parking restriction on St. Charles, which is a very narrow thoroughfare.
“It would be a loading zone,” Council President Alex Wyatt said, “so businesses can still get their supplies.”
Committee members talked about installing “no parking” signs at the intersection with Oxmoor, one at the alley going behind the businesses and another between those two. Melanie Geer asked if there should be a limit for loading, perhaps 15 to 30 minutes.
Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Melanie Geer makes a point during the Public Safety Committee meeting of the Homewood City Council.
“I think we would probably need to talk to the businesses over there just to make sure we're not creating something that's unachievable,” Wyatt said. “I would say let's talk to the businesses first if we're going to limit the loading and unloading time. My guess is no one sitting here knows what's reasonable or not for any of those businesses. I think we probably would need to initiate that discussion if we wanted to make that part of (the action).”
Committee members also talked about restricting parking near the intersection with Oxmoor. Additionally, they wondered if DoorDash and Grubhub deliveries met the definition of “loading,” thus allowing them to park in the loading zone.
Wyatt said measurements need to be taken to determine the space that would be left for loading. He also cautioned the committee about “unintended consequences” of their actions, including possibly creating a specific time of day when deliveries can be done.
“The shorter you make the (delivery) windows, the more trucks are gonna show up because that's the only time they can show up,” the council president said. “You may end up with a lot of trucks at once if you did that, which may create more hazard, especially depending on what type of morning we're talking about. Then, can deliveries be made then. The businesses can control it at least to some extent but there are some things that they can't control.”
The committee chose to carry the matter over until the next meeting on Aug. 5. The Finance Committee did not meet Monday because it lacked a quorum. A special meeting of the Finance Committee will take place at 5 p.m. Monday prior to the full council meeting.
