What the Mayor said

Hi. Here are my conclusions from my discussion with Aberdeen Mayor Michael Bennett Thursday morning.

The new mayor seemed very eager to help and apologized for taking so long to respond to our concerns. (The petition was sent to him several months ago!) He told me he would do the following:

1) Talk to the police chief about ticketing policy. Of course, those who really are blocking traffic must be ticketed and towed. But those who are in unofficial spots that aren't causing a problem shouldn't be bothered.

2) Send a crew out to paint lines to create more official spots on both sides of the tracks.

3) Talk to MTA or MARC or whoever owns the dirt lot on the northbound side to see about allowing parking there.

4) Oppose the MARC proposal to move the train station 1 mile south. He says the train station is part of Aberdeen's heritage, and he wants to keep it here.

5) Try to improve lighting.

I wondered whether the environmental and BRAC themes of the state legislature this session made it a good opportunity to get some funding for some improvements in Aberdeen this session. He disagreed, saying that the special session raising taxes meant that any new projects would have a poor chance this year.

But it sounded like he would be able to take action on some of the above items soon. If he does, we may get some quick parking relief! Let's all pay attention and remember who helps us out when elections roll around again!

If you had a conversation with the mayor and want to add your recollections or comments, (or if you are the mayor and want to post a response) post a comment here or email aberdeenparking@gmail.com