As part of the city’s downtown redevelopment initiative, angled parking has been reintroduced to East Main Street. Historic photos of downtown Merrill show angled parking was used in the past.
The angled parking was striped earlier this week on the north side of the 800 and 900 blocks of East Main Street from Trophy Bar to Ace Hardware. Plans call for the north side of the 1000 block to be striped yet this fall. The center line of East Main Street downtown has been shifted to the south to accommodate the new angled parking on the north side. Parking on the south side of the street will remain as it is.
The angled parking creates a significant number of additional parking spots downtown, said city administrator Dave Johnson. Parking spaces on the north side of the 800 block, for example, have increased from 10 to 15.
Other projects completed this year as part of the redevelopment plan include the repaving of Cleveland and Mill streets, along with the repaving and curbing of the municipal parking lot on the 800 block of East Main Street. Trees will be planted in the three new green spaces created in the revamped parking lot.