Council delays decision on making Temple Street a one-way; contractor held to await direction

Villarrica councilors discussed whether to convert Temple Street (adjacent to the municipal building) to one-way traffic after the city repaved the street, but they ultimately agreed to take no action at the Sept. 9 meeting so staff could pause contractor striping and allow further review.
Public works staff member (presenting the item) said the recently repaved roadway is narrow in places and that striping had not yet been finalized; the contractor was mobilized but the striping work was held off until council direction. Staff noted there is room for two 10-foot lanes and parking but that the corridor feels tight, particularly where parklets and angled parking are proposed.
Council members raised several concerns: compatibility with the long-range downtown streetscape concept (which envisions a two-way configuration), potential traffic backup at nearby intersections, impacts to downtown businesses if parking angles are reversed, and community habit and driver retraining. Councilman Marchman and others said one-way traffic would ease passing in the tight segment, but Councilman Warmoth and others urged consistency with the streetscape concept and recommended a traffic study before reversing travel direction.
Public safety staff and the police chief had earlier expressed a preference for one direction (westbound) as easing access for emergency vehicles, but council members said they wanted more analysis on impacts to downtown circulation and businesses. Because the contractor was prepared to stripe, one council member suggested simply keeping the current plan and restriping later when the streetscape is implemented; another suggested improved markings now.
The meeting concluded with the council’s consensus to take no action on the one-way conversion at this time and to leave striping to reflect existing angles so that future work related to downtown streetscape (planned for 2028) is not duplicated. The council instructed staff to hold off final striping decisions and to return the item for additional review.