During Lexington City Council’s meeting on April 3, following an inquiry from Vice Mayor Marylin Alexander, Lexington City Manager Tom Carroll updated Council on the plans for the barriers at the corner of Main and Nelson streets beside Corner-Stone Bank.
The barriers were placed there in late March as a preventative measure against trucks knocking over the traffic light on that corner of the intersection, which Carroll noted has happened at least four times since he became city manager last June.
Carroll told Council that he and city staff were exploring two options for a more permanent solution to the problem of trucks damaging that light.
The first is to remove the handicap parking space located in front of the Bank of the James on the opposite side of Main Street and shift the other parking spaces in front of the bank further north. One of these spaces would be made a handicap parking space to make up for the removal of the current space.
The extra space on the far side of the street could allow truck drivers to make a wider turn at that intersection if needed to avoid hitting the light. Additionally, planters would be installed along the Nelson Street sidewalk where the temporary barriers are now, which would be hit first if the truck doesn’t take the turn widely enough.
The other option that is being considered is to shift the parking on the block of Nelson Street between Main and Randolph to the other side of the street and move the travel lanes over. Carroll observed that that option would be more complicated and would result in fewer parking spaces along the street, adding that his preference was for the first solution.
