City may limit New Madrid parking to south side only

City engineer Mark Lester admits the parking situation on New Madrid Street has left some drivers scratching their heads.

While the widening project was being done, no-parking signs that stood sporadically up and down the street were taken down, leaving drivers -- primarily Southeast Missouri State University students -- wondering where they could park.

"The whole time the project was going on, people didn't really know where to park," said Lester. "They were parking in people's driveways and stuff like that. The parking situation was kind of goofy."

When the $424,000 project, which involved widening New Madrid from Henderson to Perryville Road and installing sidewalks on the south side of the street, was complete, city workers put the signs back where they were before, Lester said.

"We did that as best we could remember," he said. "They're close to where they were before."

But some may not be there long.

The city is working on a proposal that would make it illegal to park anywhere on the north side of the street from Henderson to Perryville Road and allow parking all along the south side of the street.

"We're doing that primarily because the sidewalks are on the south side of the street," Lester said. "But it should clear up a lot of the confusion."

Some residents said they liked the proposal of keeping cars to one side of the street.

"That would make the street wider for drivers," said Esther Aufdenberg, who lives at 1528 New Madrid. "It's aggravating. They park right on my sidewalk. Those students don't care where they park."

Cape Girardeau traffic officer Sgt. Jack Wimp said before the work began, quite a few tickets were issued to drivers who parked in no-parking zones. For example, on New Madrid between Henderson and West End Boulevard, parking is allowed only between Illinois Avenue and West End Boulevard. Cars parked illegally on Tuesday were issued tickets, which generally cost drivers about $15, Wimp said.

"We have had a parking problem there in the past, but this should clear a lot of that up," Wimp said. "We'll continue to issue tickets until it's changed."

Going before council

Lester said the proposal likely will go before the Cape Girardeau City Council Nov. 5 and take effect sometime in December.

"Nobody's really sure what the parking situation is now, but this should simplify everything," Lester said.

Lester said police will be going door to door to let residents know about the change. They will have an opportunity to voice opinions about the proposal at the council meeting.

The project was among the city's Transportation Trust Fund projects, which are paid for with revenue from a half-cent sales tax. It came about because of the need to widen New Madrid to accommodate university traffic and cars leaving Show Me Center events.

Ladonna Murray,1605 New Madrid, said it was better before. "It did make it wider, but they added sidewalks," she said. "That took up a lot of area where we parked. There honestly was more room to park before."

Elizabeth Haug lives on Illinois Street, which connects with New Madrid near Henderson. She said she has noticed fewer cars parking on her street since New Madrid reopened.

"Some of those students park there knowing they're going to get ticketed," she said. "It's worth it to get that close to campus."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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