Council Limits Traffic at Church Property

The City Council has required Our Lady of Guadalupe School and Church to prohibit motorists from exiting the campus onto 3rd Avenue.

Residents of nearby Marian Street had urged the council to prohibit any traffic from entering or exiting the school property at 3rd Avenue because, they said, their neighborhood is overrun by traffic on its way to and from the school and church.

The council’s action, however, stopped short of doing that. Traffic will still be able to enter the grounds from 3rd Avenue.

The issue came up years ago when the nonprofit St. Vincent de Paul Society got permission to build Mary’s Home, a transitional shelter for homeless women and their children, behind the church.

Some Marian Street residents who had opposed the project said the school and church traffic already created parking problems in their neighborhood and urged the council to remedy the situation.

More than three years have passed, residents told council members recently, and the problem still exists.

St. Vincent de Paul officials said that if the new exit restriction does not ease the traffic problems, they will consider having tire shredders installed at the church’s 3rd Avenue entrance to keep vehicles out.