The Etna Green town Council passed a downtown parking change, making spots on both sides of Walnut Street parallel to the curb.The ordinance allows businesses to claim two spots and to post signs restricting parking to two hours during business hours, after notifying the town. Council members said that may keep apartment residents from parking in front of businesses all day. The trade-off is that two angled spaces on the east side of the street will be lost, something Fasttimes Fabrications owner Heath Roberts told council will hurt his business. Council members said they proposed the parking change for safety reasons, since angle-parked vehicles can pose a hazard when backing out. Councilman Keith Claassen said he had been a passenger in a backing-out accident, and that it’s a change he has wanted to make for 30 or 40 years. Councilman Todd Slabaugh also noted that angle-parked trucks sometimes stick out in the road.
