By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
If Newport residents speak, their words will definitely be heard by the city’s administration.
That was evident during Monday night’s Board of Commissioners meeting when a pair of Newport residents voiced their concerns about the plan to turn Thornton Street from a two-way road into a one-way westerly street.
Newport officials sent out notices about the potential change by mail several weeks ago, but some residents on that west-end street claimed they did not receive the information from the post office. That led to a debate at Monday night’s meeting about the potential of turning Thornton into a one-way westerly street.
Jerry Peluso
After hearing concerns, Mayor Jerry Peluso suggested the item be tabled for further study and discussion.
“I think it’s important that we talk and listen to everybody, especially in business,” Peluso said after hearing the concerns. “Again, I want to look at the numbers.”
Thornton is currently a two-way street and includes Burkart’s Carry Out, a store that has been in business for more than 100 years at that location. But Thornton is an extremely narrow road and also has on-street parking.
“It’s too narrow to have two cars go down it at the same time,” Peluso pointed out. “It’s as simple as that. There have been instances that cars have been side-swiped. You can not have two cars travel it, unless someone pulls over.”
Commissioner Tom Guidugli agreed that tabling the item for more discussion was a good move.
“We had a lot of input from the community about how one-way streets benefit because it provides additional parking, and it also calms traffic,” Guidugli said. “The combination of those two things were what we were hearing from the citizens of the community.
Tom Guidugli
“However, valid points were made by a business owner and that’s why this process occurs in the manner it does. The concerns were shared, we were responsive and we’re going to take a deeper look into this. That’s why we have meetings. That’s why people attend, and that’s why we get the opportunity to hear their voice.”
Thornton Street going westerly runs into the Kentucky Route 9 extension.
While the mystery of the lost mail wasn’t solved, all sides agreed to take another look at the situation and the potential impact.
“I understand sometimes mail gets lost, and it gets mixed in with other things,” Guidugli said, noting the fact the City of Newport also had an official make in-person contact with those at Burkart’s Carry Out as well as others on Thornton Street. “Reaching out with that second step is something I’m proud of, with our staff by being diligent, trying to reach every resident to get their input.”
In other items Monday night:
•Tyler Hatfield, Jason Samples, and James Hauenstein were appointed to the position of Patrol Officer, Grade I, in the Newport Police Department, effective Feb. 10.
•The Board of Commissioners reappointed John Adkins and Roger Weddle to the code enforcement board.
•The Board of Commissioners reappointed Nick Miller, William “Tom” Fisher, Ed Davis, and Mike Kolb to the historic preservation commission.
The Newport Board of Commissioners will convene for a caucus meeting on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
