Auburn City Council met Tuesday, Jan. 22 to discuss grievances about high school overflow parking along Terrace Acres Drive.
The Council resolved to limit parking on Terrace Acres Drive from 7:30- 9:30 a.m. daily to prevent vehicles from cluttering the street.
According to City Manager Charles Duggan, signs will be posted around the street alerting to the new no-parking policy.
Tim Meeks of Auburn spoke of issues he and neighbors had with Auburn High School parking overflow along the road.
"Students that don't have permits tend to park on Terrace Acres Drive on both sides of the street," Tim said. "When you turn east on Terrace Acres Drive it's a difficult curve as it is visibility-wise. You have two sets of cars to both sides of Terrace Acres; you have some real visibility challenges. Additionally, most of those people parking are new drivers - 15, 16, 17-year-old drivers. They don't always use the best judgment."
Another concern to the residents of Terrace Acres Drive is the pedestrian traffic interacting with the car traffic.
"At 7:30 and 2:30 it's flat-out a very dangerous area," Tim said. "Our concern is not aesthetics and cars in front of our houses as much as it is truly a safety concern."
Interviewed after the meeting, Kelly Meeks said the parking has been an issue for nearly three years. She says this year has been the most amount of cars with 14 - 16 cars there a day.
The Meeks and neighbors are "deeply concerned that there's just an incident waiting to happen."
According to Kelly, her neighbor must pick up trash on a daily basis.
"What's hard is the people trying to drive through our neighborhood," Kelly said. "Utility trucks trying to service the telephone polls, the cable, the mail lady can't get to the mailbox because they've parked too close. The trash people can't get to the trashcans. It's those kinds of inconveniences mainly. It really slows down traffic."
Also discussed at the meeting, a new cigar shop will be built at 2328 S. College St.
The shop, Havana Dreamin', is the creation of Rick Payne, an Auburn University alum.
Auburn's Havana Dreamin' is Payne's expansion from the original in Montgomery. He looks to create a place to idolize the old, romantic Cuba.
"Auburn's still got that friendly small-town feel that I fell in love with when I went to school there," Payne said.
The architecture of the new Havana Dreamin' will resemble a Cuban street scene that incorporates a store in a store.
"We're trying to create an atmosphere," Payne said. "Most cigar stores are brown leather chairs and dark paneling and they're dull, boring and look like an English library. I just don't like that look. I think you can create something that looks fun and relaxing."
His goal is to replicate the community gathering place found in the Montgomery Havana Dreamin'.
"The whole deal with cigars is really - you don't inhale them - so you sit down; you relax; you have a drink; ya know, you talk to your buddies, your girlfriends. Ladies are welcome for sure," Payne said. "You don't really have that many places where people can sit and talk. In cigar store we talk politics and football nonstop. It's intended to be a time where you take a few minutes for yourself and sit down and relax and enjoy, you know, a simple pleasure."
The Council also passed an ordinance increasing liquor tax late fees to 20 percent.
A zoning ordinance passed for more than 23 acres on 3810 S. College St., which previously housed the Drivers Club Golf Range was rezoned for commercial development by developer Brantley Land, LLC.
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