At the Gambier Village Council meeting on Monday, administrators focused on the Village’s new strategic plan and also discussed parking and traffic concerns.

The discussion on traffic and parking was in part spurred by the recent defacing of one of the ‘stop for pedestrians’ signs on Wiggin Street.

In this conversation, the Council discussed the recent detour that will run through Gambier for 99 days. A result of construction of a bridge at Millwood, the detour will increase small and large vehicle traffic moving through Gambier. Village Administrator RC Wise said the detour may also affect the “stop for pedestrians” signs on Wiggin St. 

“Some of those [signs] may have to come down temporarily because they may be sending big trucks through that cannot maneuver the turn without taking it out,” he said.    

The Council also spent time discussing parking concerns, particularly the limited spaces available on Gaskin Avenue. Mayor of Gambier Kachen Kimmell said that the Village is “getting comments from the business owners” about cars parked overnight or for extensive periods of time. She said that the Council had received a letter from the Deli, explaining that vendors were not able to make deliveries in the early morning because of cars taking up spots.

For this reason, Kimmell said that the Village staff and the Streets and Utilities Committee are trying to get deputies “more organized” about ticketing.

“Part of what the Village is trying to deal with is that there are a lot of students that live on Gaskin and Chase now, and it appears — and sometimes it’s real visible when it snows overnight — that students are staying overnight or staying for extensive periods in those spots,” Kimmell said.

Councilperson Betsy Heer agreed, citing the new downtown study spaces as responsible for some of the parking shortages. Kimmell said that she hopes students will show “some consideration” for these parking problems, and she thanks them for cooperating with the Village.