FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – Following the fresh new paving in downtown Fayetteville, the town council made the decision to remove several parking spaces on the east side of Court St.
It came on a from the parking committee. They say it allows for better school bus and truck traffic flow, as well as safer loading and unloading in the area.
But while the limited parking makes it easier for some, others, like downtown business owners, are not happy with the recent lack of spaces for their customers or employees.
Cassidy Bayes, owner of the Southside Junction Taphouse, is not pleased with the situation.
“Other than losing customer parking right in front of our businesses, we are also losing employee parking, as well,” says Bayes. “In the summertime, our bartenders and employees at the Taphouse don’t get out until like 2 a.m, sometimes not until 3 a.m, and I would hate to have my employees park like a quarter mile down the road.”
Downtown public parking is available at the Fayette County Board of Education and the Courthouse lots after 4 p.m. The town also has signs directing people to the Church of God lot behind the Ben Franklin store, as well as working to add more parking signs for additional open lots.
Bayes thinks the town council could have given herself and other business owners on the street a better warning.
“I just think it would have been nice to go around and let everyone know who has a business in downtown Fayetteville that this was being discussed, for us to be able to have an opportunity to share our opinions and ideas about it, as well, I think that was really unfortunate that that wasn’t what happened,” she says.
Fayetteville Mayor Sharon Cruikshank says she is hopeful the town can make more public parking access available in the near future and is looking to increase handicapped parking spaces to better serve its citizens and local businesses.
For now, the town is asking locals and employees of Fayetteville to park in the available lots as they continue to work on getting the parking issue fully resolved.
