Traffic flow concerns some in Bloomfield

Traffic flow was discussed during the September meeting of the Bloomfield Town Council.

Town Marshal Kenny Tharp asked the council if a decision had ever been made to place no parking signs on Davis Street between State Road 231 and Franklin Street.

"What happened to this? Do I put the signs up or not?" he asked the council.

Council Member Roger Doane replied, "We talked, but I'm not sure if we made a decision."

On Wednesday, Tharp explained, "We've had complaints about the street (Davis) being narrow and peopling backing out."

Right now parking is allowed on both sides of the street, he noted.

"We were going to put no parking on one side so people would be able to back out of their driveways," he explained, noting the issue was brought up at a previous meeting.

At Tuesday night's council meeting, Doane suggested researching the matter a bit more.

In other traffic issues, the alley between Davis and South Streets was again brought to the forefront.

Jan Michael Pfaff, who lives near Bloomfield Elementary School, brought the matter to the forefront in a previous meeting and again shared concerns Tuesday.

The alley between South and Davis Streets is being used by parents dropping off elementary students in the morning, Pfaff said. This causes residents to be blocked in.

"The parents shut down the alley in the morning," he added. "It's not teachers. ... I've talked to my neighbors about it. Getting in and out is a hassle. It's not wide enough for two cars."

During the meeting, Doane suggested that Tharp monitor the area.

"I sat down there this morning and 11 cars went down the alley," Tharp offered Wednesday.

If the alley is made a no thru-way it will cure the problem, he suggested.

The alley is only big enough for one vehicle. When two vehicles enter the alley at opposite directions one ends up driving into a residential yard, Tharp said.

In other business:

* Tharp recognized Harvey Holt for graduating second in his police academy class. Holt is now a full-time Bloomfield officer who has a background in military law enforcement.