Development A Two-Way Street In Downtown Wheeling
Portion of 12th Street to change within 10 days
WHEELING — A longstanding feature of downtown Wheeling’s traffic pattern soon will change when a portion of 12th Street becomes two-way.
The one-way street will become two-way between Water and Chapline streets, likely within the next 10 days, according to Division of Operations Superintendent Tim Birch. The move is a result of action taken by the previous council during their final meeting on June 21.
City Manager Robert Herron said the decision was made to accommodate future property development at the corner of 12th and Main streets, a now vacant lot owned by RCK2 Group LLC. In February, RCK2 Group, a real estate holding company co-managed by Warwood attorney Robert Fitzsimmons, collaborated with WesBanco to demolish five buildings on the site.
The Fitzsimmons family has not commented regarding potential plans for the property.
City administration formally made the request for a two-way street at a Traffic Commission meeting May 12. Herron said the property owner wants to develop the site, and said a two-way road would make the space “more attractive.”
In March, WesBanco requested a partial abandonment for a lane which intersects its 1200 block property, to facilitate a new, temporary parking lot the bank is planning. Without the lane, drivers would have to travel up to 10th Street to circle back through the Main and Market street loop — another reason to make 12th Street two-way, according to Herron said.
New traffic signals have been placed at the corner of 12th and Market, covered in black plastic wrapping. Birch said these lights still need to be wired before the change takes effect.
The city will conduct a public notification campaign to notify drivers about the change in the usual traffic pattern.
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