Fayette’s Board of Aldermen last week voted 5-0 to repave downtown in an effort to permanently fix parking stripe issues.

For years, multiple parking stripes around the square have caused confusion. In September 2019, the city changed the angles of downtown parking spaces to allow traffic to pass through the narrow streets more easily. That change increased the width of driving lanes by around 10 feet but reduced the number of parking spaces around the square by 41%, from 217 to 127, by this newspaper’s count. The old lines were also painted over in black. Yellow lines marked the new spaces, which some still find confusing.

That headache could be over soon. The council chose the most comprehensive proposal provided to resolve the problem. Concerns were raised regarding less expensive options that did not guarantee to erase the old lines completely. The project is estimated to cost $215,766.97. It will include milling down of areas where parking lines are currently painted on three sides of the square and a block of North Main Street and South Main Street. Two inches of asphalt will then be overlayed on the entire area. This will not affect the west side of the square since North Church Street is a state highway.

The downtown community improvement district (CID) will likely cover some of the expense. The CID board previously approved paying for two-thirds of the initial project, which included new intersections along South Church Street and a seal coating of the square. However, since the scope of that project has changed, the CID board will have to decide if it will contribute to downtown repaving. The city will have to request help from the CID before a decision can be made.

The CID board meets on Monday, September 28, but the issue probably won't be discussed until its October meeting.

The city hopes to begin the project by mid-October. However, that will entirely rely on ongoing work being completed on North Main Street, which is unlikely. That project will replace sidewalks on either side of the block and replace storm sewers beneath the roadway.

Realistically, downtown repaving will likely take place in the spring or summer of 2027. Any such delay will also have an effect on the cost.

The council also must sign off on a parking scheme for downtown. The new plan is expected to revive the old pattern of parking lines to include more spaces at the expense of narrow driving lanes. Parallel parking on the north and south blocks of Main Street is not expected to be approved. However, parallel parking will likely remain on the west side of the square in front of Eagle Plaza, as well as on both sides of about a half-block of West Morrison Street to allow for large vehicles to more safely turn to and from Highway 240.