By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

(Jan. 16, 2020) Establishing a convenient loading zone for parcel and mail delivery trucks in downtown Berlin proved to be trickier than anyone realized Monday night, as the mayor and council found themselves traveling in different directions.

By Morgan Pilz
Berlin’s Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells will look to see if there is a
better location than on Pitt Street to designate a loading and unloading zone in the town by the
next meeting on Monday, Jan. 27.

Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells suggested that the council place a postal and parcel service-only loading and unloading zone on Pitt Street to eliminate the traffic hazards the big box trucks often create. The problem has been that delivery vehicles from FedEx, UPS, the postal service and other services will often stop in the middle of the street to drop off a package, the blocking other traffic.

“I have been working on this for the last several years, trying to figure out a place where our UPS and FedEx trucks could park and handcart some of their goods wherever they need to go,” Wells said. “I’ve seen UPS trucks and FedEx trucks literally stop in the middle of Main Street, and then there’s a line of cars that can’t get by.”

Wells said this zone would not be for food service trucks that deliver early in the mornings or for drivers unloading supplies for the nearby antique stores.

Wells has been working with Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing and a local UPS driver known only as Ethan to discuss potential locations for the zone, having previously considered Commerce Street next to Victorian Charm, though Pitt Street was ultimately chosen.

She said she plans to meet with FedEx and USPS drivers as well to gather their thoughts on a location. She assured the council it would not directly affect the horse-and-carriage rides that load up on that street.

Councilman Dean Burrell, however, expressed some concern for people who might only need less than 15 minutes to run errands and taking away parking spots from those who need it.

“What consideration is being given to the public that just needs to come to use the ATM or run into the bank or run into Victorian Charm for five or 10 minutes?” he asked. “I do believe that there should be some consideration given to those folks that need those services just for a few minutes and provide some type of parking that is restricted by number of minutes for those folks.”

Wells was amenable to the idea and agrees the location on Commerce Street would be an ideal location for 15-minute parking or less during the day and could be used by the residents at night.

However, Councilman Zackery Tyndall said the locations be reviewed again because it could block an intersecting alley.

“When I see this spot, I see the alleyway that people come out,” Tyndall said. “You’ve got a tricky intersection there already that’s narrow, and then if you put a box truck there, and this is a primary route for emergency vehicles to travel to the east side of town, I see a lot of complications in that intersection with this type of designated parking.

“If you put three vehicles there, like what you typically see on a busy day downtown, that intersection’s already complicated and then you throw a box truck or a FedEx truck or something in the middle and then you try to send an emergency vehicle down that road … I think you’re asking for a recipe for disaster,” he continued.

Tyndall recommended the zone be located toward the end of the town to avoid traffic confusion.

Mayor Gee Williams disagreed, though he did concede that the town does have narrow streets.

“We have a problem now with folks parking there that are not supposed to park there at all,” Williams said. “To me, it’s a situation where we should make effective use of that property to solve a problem. I don’t see this spot becoming secondary … It’s just not a major factor.”

Councilman Elroy Brittingham argued the location was ideal because it was placed in the center of town.

“I like the location because it’s more central, in the center of town … because it’s not going to be utilized if it’s on the end of the town,” Brittingham said.

In the end, the council, Wells and Downing agreed to delay the decision to the following council meeting on Monday, Jan. 27 to come up with a few more ideas where the zone should be located.

“We’ve been working on this for the past 10 plus years,” Wells said. “It obviously takes a long time to figure something like this out so hopefully, we’ll get that in place because we know it’s become a safety issue.”