Parking and traffic highlight a busy Reynoldsville Borough Council meeting

The Reynoldsville Borough Council held its regular monthly meeting on March 20 with a packed house on hand, including members of Girl Scout Troop 20253 who were observing.

During the public comment section, one resident from Baxter Street asked about the status of the Flood Mitigation Grant that was discussed at the February meeting.

Council president TJ Sliwinski said work on the grant is on-going. He said he has been in contact with the borough engineers, PVE Sheffler of Sewickley, to get information and decide best how to proceed. He said it would take more than dredging, and he wanted to make sure whatever was done would alleviate the problem.

Parking and Traffic

Business owner Jessica Geer asked why a no parking sign was placed in front of her beauty shop Main Street. She had attended the previous meeting and asked about snow removal there, but since then the no parking sign was placed. However, the sign was not approved by council.

Police Chief Troy Bell said due to the number of complaints, and the fact there is an alley there, there is a motor vehicle code that states you can’t park 15 feet from any intersection. He said he did suggest a sign be placed there, but he stressed he doesn’t have the authority to do that.

“Generally, that’s for visibility sake, and safety sake,” he said.

If the borough decides to do make any changes to signage or parking, Chief Bell said, it will require an engineering study.

Some discussion was given to the angle parking on one side of the street where some larger vehicles are forced to pull onto the sidewalk to avoid a safety issue on Main Street. Those vehicles could be ticketed, but that’s not being enforced at this time.

Lines for parking spaces will be painted later in the spring so drivers can clearly see where the spots are. For now, Geer can park where she normally parks until the council can look at the situation as a whole.

A Baxter Street resident also pointed out a problem with drivers speeding in the area where children are playing. The borough is going to post a warning sign and a speed limit sign there. Police are also going to patrol the area.

Another traffic problem along Brown Street was mentioned. The area is where cars from the DuBois-Jefferson County Vocational-Technical School (Jeff Tech) enter and exit. Police are also patrolling that area

Police Station

What to do about the police station was another topic discussed at length by council. Right now, the station is on the second floor of the borough building which makes it difficult to access for some since there is no handicapped access.

Council member Billy Cebulskie, who chairs a special committee to look into the matter, said all options are being looked at, even moving the station downstairs and remodeling the office there to suit. The council meetings would then have to be moved to another location.

Cebulskie said the committee will review every idea to see what would be the best fit for the borough.

Point View Bridge to close this summer

Borough crews plan to pave an area of Grant Street when the weather breaks. More discussion will be held on that project at the April meeting.

Council was also informed that the Point View Bridge will be closed in late spring as the county plans to complete a replacement project. A detour will be posted.