Main Street Survey About New Parking Signs and Markings

Elkins is testing new parking signs and parking-space markings on one block of Third Street, and the public is invited to provide feedback through an online survey.

The purpose of this “test block,” which lies on Third Street between Davis Avenue and Kerens Avenue, is to enable city officials, residents, business owners and employees, and other stakeholders to see and comment on proposed new signs and markings before plans are finalized for implementation throughout the downtown area.

Elkins Main Street, a downtown revitalization organization that frequently partners with City of Elkins on improvements in the city’s Central Business District, is coordinating the survey and will collect and report on results.

“We want to hear what people think,” says Madalyn Higgins, the executive director of Elkins Main Street. “If any of the signs are hard to see or confusing, or if the markings on the ground could be tweaked to make them more helpful, that’s exactly the sort of thing we’re hoping to hear. We want any new signs and other visual aids to be as helpful as possible.”

The proposed signage and markings currently on display on the test block are the latest step in the multi-phase Elkins Streetscape Vision created by Elkins Main Street and City of Elkins and adopted by city council in 2016. The overall goals of the parking-related action steps in this plan are to reduce visual clutter, make the downtown even more inviting, and encourage visitors and locals alike to get out of their cars, visit local businesses, and explore the area.

Past steps included the removal of all downtown parking-meter heads and the change from 2-hour paid parking to 3-hour free parking 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Future steps include removal of all meter posts throughout downtown. The new parking signposts will include brackets for the American Legion’s flag displays on national flag holidays. Meter posts will be temporarily left in place on Davis Avenue and Third Street so that these displays can continue uninterrupted in the meantime.

After the survey responses and other feedback have been analyzed and incorporated, Elkins Main Street and the city will plan for implementation of new signage and markings throughout the downtown.

“This has been a collaborative project all along,” says Higgins. “We’ve had great support from the city’s Street Department, and Randolph WORC students assisted with painting the new markings. Now it’s the public’s turn to weigh in and let us know how we can make the new signage and markings as helpful and successful as possible.”

The survey is here: www.bit.ly/ElkinsParkingSurvey

The Elkins Streetscape Vision is here: www.bit.ly/Elkins-Streetscape

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