CELORON - A local law to prohibit parking on the north side of Boulevard Avenue from Dunham Avenue to Edgewater Street in Celoron has passed.
On Monday, the Village Board held a public hearing and a special meeting on the local law. John Keeney, Celoron mayor, said no one spoke during the public hearing on the proposed parking change. The mayor said the change will occur after county Public Works Department employees finish highway work on Boulevard Avenue. Keeney said he didn't know the exact date when work will start on the highway.
''It is my understanding, sometime in the next two weeks or so. My guess, the first or second week of August,'' he said.
Keeney said once the project is completed, new lines will be drawn on Boulevard Avenue, which will eliminate the parking spaces on the north side of the highway near Lucille Ball Memorial Park. Earlier this month, Keeney told The Post-Journal because Boulevard Avenue is a county road, it has to be able to handle all-size vehicles from small compact cars to large tractor-trailers.
''So when cars are parked on both sides of the road, it is almost impossible for a truck and a car to pass each other where two cars are parked,'' Keeney said.
The mayor also said people who park on Boulevard Avenue have to be cautious of when they decide to open their door so as not to be hit by passing automobiles. Keeney said with parking prohibited on the north side, the lines on the road will be repainted to have a wider traffic pattern. This will also create a safer crosswalk, with room for a sign indicating vehicles should yield to pedestrians.
In other business, the village's community picnic held at Lucille Ball Memorial Park will be held Sunday, Aug. 19. The picnic in recent years has usually been held on Labor Day. However, village officials have been told by some residents they are so busy that weekend they don't have time to attend the community event.
''We have had a number of people suggest that Labor Day ends with a lot of individual family responsibility. A lot of people that want to be there weren't able to attend,'' Keeney said. ''An earlier date seems like it might be more successful.''