Aviles Street redesign cautiously moving forward

City commissioners reached a verbal consensus Monday night for staff to keep moving forward with a proposal to redesign the Aviles Street gateway off King Street — signaling satisfaction with how plans are taking shape.

But, commissioners want further study on outside dining which would be possible on the wider sidewalk without blocking pedestrian traffic.

Of concern is if such a decision could open the door to requests from other areas, particularly on St. George Street, where such approval could upset the court-tested ban on street entertainers.

Chief Operations Officer John Regan called the outdoor dining proposal “an integral part of the redesign plan” which has been developed with strong support from the street’s merchants and property owners

It has been estimated that the project would cost about $175,000 to complete.

Regan said he’s negotiating with Trinity Episcopal Church to establish pay parking on its Artillery Lane lot in order to offset the loss of existing parking spaces on Aviles Street.

Photo credit: © 2009 Historic City News photographer Kerry McGuire