Building Owner Seeks One-Way Traffic on Water Street in Downtown Wheeling
Increased Traffic to Waterfront Hall, Steep Parking Tickets Prompting Reevaluation
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WHEELING - City leaders in Wheeling are considering a proposal to convert traffic flow along Water Street at Heritage Port to one-way in light of increased vehicular traffic to Waterfront Hall.
Many visitors to the new downtown hotspot have been slapped with parking tickets during the day, when parking is prohibited on the west side of Water Street.
Members of the Development Committee of Council last week unanimously agreed to forward the recommendation along to the full city council for consideration.
Dan Milleson, owner of Waterfront Hall, appeared before the Development Committee to make the proposal and explain concerns he shares with his tenants and patrons to the popular new venue.
"All we’re trying to do is to create an accessible, clear and positive visitor experience down there for Waterfront Hall and for visitors to Heritage Port," Milleson said. "Since things have changed and there’s a lot more daytime traffic, we’re trying to make it better for all visitors now that there’s a new reality taking place down there."
Waterfront Hall opened its doors to the public last year after Milleson completed extensive renovations in the former Barry Supply Building on Water Street. The facility has a bar, dining area and live music venue on the first floor, along with spaces occupied by food service tenants - Avenue Eats, and just recently, Wood Fired Pizza Co.
The upper floors include private loft space available for overnight stays and an event hall for special occasions - also available for rent.
Traffic flow to Waterfront Hall has been busy at all hours of the day during business hours, and things are expected to get even busier in the near future when a new hair and day spa opens in a third tenant location in the building, Milleson indicated.
"From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, there’s a lot of confusion about where to park at Waterfront Hall, and the signage isn’t very clear," he said. "So $25 tickets are being issued to patrons."
It’s become a situation where Milleson has paid parking tickets for his customers, he said, noting that Avenue Eats owners Laura Graves and Phil Kendall have reportedly done the same.
Dan Milleson, owner of Waterfront Hall in downtown Wheeling, appears before members of the Development Committee of Wheeling City Council to suggest ways to create more daytime parking outside of the venue along Heritage Port. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
"We’re just trying to maintain a positive guest experience down there for a lot of people who are coming to Wheeling from Belmont County and from other places throughout the Ohio Valley - for the first time, for many of them - to come down there and eat," Milleson noted. "It hurts a little bit."
Wood Fired Pizza Co. just opened there within the last week or so, and some of their patrons have also received $25 parking tickets, Milleson said.
There has been no problem in the evening and on the weekends. Ticketing does not occur on the weekends or after 5 p.m. weekdays, and city leaders indicated that parking on the west side of Water Street is actually permitted except for regular weekday business hours when downtown traffic is heavy.
"My proposal for an immediate solution is basically to extend the weekend and nighttime parking policy that we currently have to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays on Water Street," Milleson said. "There is a need for an in-and-out kind of experience down there that didn’t exist before. I would like to create a one-way Water Street running northbound."
A one-way northbound traffic flow along Water Street from 14th Street to at least 12th Street will accommodate parking on both sides of Water Street during daytime business hours. This traffic pattern would require only one large flowing lane of traffic down the middle of the road instead of two lanes for two-way traffic.
Even a temporary fix would help the situation, Milleson said, and city leaders agreed that the proposal would be considered temporary.
"I realize the irony of getting behind a one-way traffic conversion after we’ve obviously lobbied so hard for a two-way," said Mayor Glenn Elliott, chairman of the Development Committee of Council, who early in his tenure proposed two-way traffic in the city’s downtown - an idea that never resonated with the public or gained traction. "In the short-term - I don’t think we have a parking problem, I think we have a walking problem. It takes a while to train people to want to walk to a location."
Elliott noted that if many people cannot park near their destination, they just go somewhere else. Meanwhile, Waterfront Hall and its tenants are just starting out and trying to draw patrons to the new venue.
"I think five to 10 years from now, it’s a very different reality - especially if Water Street is lined with other venues, I can see Water Street itself being a pedestrian venue entirely, honestly," Elliott said, proposing that the nearby bank is the only business that really needs Water Street as an exit for vehicles leaving its drive-thru - and options to perhaps relocate that exit could be explored in the future if need be.
"The garage is absolutely what I recommend to everybody," Milleson said, noting that the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Parking Garage is literally just a block away.
"We have an 800 space garage, really, right there," the mayor said, noted that parties needed to think of creative ways to get people to use the parking garage. "On most days, it sits 80 percent empty, if not more."
The issue was forwarded to city council for further consideration. Wheeling Fire Chief Jim Blazier noted that they would have to take a close look at the width of the street to make sure a one-way flow would be feasible for emergency vehicles.
"Northbound would be the best option for us because we do use that way of travel to get to the back side of Windsor Manor," Blazier said, indicating that this direction gives crews the best access from their rigs to fire hydrants.
Cars parked along the west side of Water Street during regular daytime business hours on weekdays in downtown Wheeling have been receiving $25 parking tickets. Dan Milleson, owner of Waterfront Hall, has asked the city to convert Water Street into a one-way northbound street with available parking on both sides during the day. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
"The last thing I want to see is see your new investment be impacted by some short-term issues that I think are correctable," the mayor told Milleson.
Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said if parking is permitted during the day on Water Street, there would have to be some type of time limit set and a way to meter it - such as the Parkmobile app option.
"There has to be some type of limit, because people will park there all day," Herron said.
"You realize, you’re going to lose all of that during festival season," Councilman Dave Palmer told Milleson of any additional parking spaces along the street.
"We love festival season," Milleson said, noting that Waterfront Hall does well with foot traffic during events at Heritage Port, even when there’s no parking or vehicular traffic at all on Water Street.