Fifth Street, Progress Street and Fourth Street to be made one-way to facilitate Valley House Flats parking needs

By John Estridge

Top photo is Fifth Street looking west from its intersection with Main Street. George’s Pharmacy and Valley House Flats are on the left with Brookville Theater and apartments on the right. Middle photo is Fourth Street looking east from its intersection with Progress Street. On the right is China House and on the left is FCN Bank’s drive thru. The bottom photo is Progress Street looking south from its intersection with Fifth Street. On the left is Valley House Flats and on the right is the patched section of the street. Note the sidewalk on the right side has been removed.

At the Tuesday, July 28, Brookville Town Council meeting, it was announced an engineering study must be accomplished before the town can make 5^th Street to the west of Main Street, Progress Street and Fourth Street, also to the west of Main Street, one way.

Brookville Town Manager Tim Ripperger told council about the need close to the end of the meeting.

Ripperger said the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) requested the engineering study to help the state employees to program the affected traffic signals for the new traffic flow.

At the Tuesday, July 14, BTC meeting, it was announced the town planned to make those streets one way to facilitate needed parking at the Valley House Flats project.

According to information at the two meetings and in talks with local business owners, 5^th street will be one-way west on the west side of Main. Angle parking is planned on the north side of the street with the present parking on the south side of 5^th Street eliminated.

It had been planned to have angle parking on the west side of Progress Street, but BTC member Curtis Ward said it was decided to move that angled parking to the east side of Progress Street because it was feared the added weight on the west side of the street would precipitate additional sliding of the hill upon which the street sits.

The hill, on which Progress Street sits, is sliding down toward the river. It was constructed of fill in the mid 20^th Century in an un-engineered fashion.

A wastewater relocation project is planned for the bottom of Progress Street. Currently, the large pipe is within the hill, and it is feared the slippage will cause a catastrophic failure.

Earlier this year and in 2019, there were large depressions near the sidewalk on the west side of Progress Street, and police tape had been strung along the west side to keep people from using the overlook and vehicles from parking on that side of the street. In many places, the sidewalk on the west side of Progress Street was without support and had voids between the sidewalk and the street and ground.

The sidewalk has been removed.

Ward said he and fellow BTC member Sam Schuck met with Brookville businessmen Bruce Rippe, the Valley House Flats developer; George Gillman, owner of George’s Pharmacy and an investor in Valley House Flats; and Mick Wilz, who owns several businesses and properties along Main Street and is also an investor in Valley House Flats, to come up with the plan.

Rippe told Ward, in those meetings, the parking on the east side of Progress Street would be more advantageous for Valley House Flats renters as they would not have to cross Progress Street to get to the apartment complex.

Council members did not announce which side of 4^th street angled parking will be on. It is currently on both sides of 4^th Street.

Ward announced, at the July 14 meeting, all business owners adjacent to the affected streets are on board with the plan.

Once the wastewater project is completed, as well as the engineering study, the town plans to move forward with the one-way-streets plan.

Part of the plan calls for the town to resurface Progress Street at an estimated cost of $100,000. Ward said Rippe is working to get grants to offset the resurfacing costs. Ward also suggested, at the July 28 meeting, Rippe’s previous engineering studies concerning Progress Street in relation to his development could be used to facilitate INDOT’s demands.