Downtown Depot Street area may go one-way

All but one of the businesses on East Depot Street support having the two blocks off the public square become a one way thoroughfare, members of the city council were told Tuesday.

The issue will be on the council's agenda when they meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at the city hall annex.

Pat McMillian sent a petition to the businesses, including a few merchants on the east side of the square, to get their opinion on the proposed revitalization of the street.

"Everyone on Depot Street except for one attorney's office ... support this," city manager Ed Craig.

"If people want it, then I guess we should do it," councilman Al Stephenson replied.

McMillian told the council that "people are very excited about it. They've wanted to make it one way for a very long time."

Craig said that the general feeling of everyone he has spoken to is that traffic should flow outbound from the public square. It will also make traffic flow easier at the intersection of Depot and 82 Bypass, Craig said.

Councilman Lee Roy Cunningham proposed making the street one way for a temporary 90-day basis "to see how it works."

"If it works fine, then we can go forward with it," he suggested.

Last month, Craig showed the council a printout from the city's architect, depicting angled parking on the right side of the street leaving the square, which would allow the city to expand the sidewalks on both sides of the street.

One sidewalk could be 12 feet wide, with walkways 17 feet wide on the other side, Craig said, which would be perfect for sidewalk cafés.

The idea also goes hand-in-hand with a concept being floated by those trying to revitalize Shelbyville's Main Street program.

Craig said last month that he and others visited Cookeville to see what has been done with that town's square, such as taking areas similar to Depot Street and "turning them into a project and turning those downtown communities around."

The projects have made the areas "very attractive and (have) drawn businesses and people back into those neighborhoods," Craig said at the time.