MONROE - The overall impact of losing a city parking lot to make way for a 60-unit apartment complex for seniors in downtown Monroe would probably be minor, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley.
At a Plan Commission meeting Wednesday, Kelley presented a six-page study, developed in conjunction with the city's Engineering Department, outlining some of the impact on police services and traffic from the proposed north parking lot development.
According to the study, calls for police service could increase "perhaps 1 percent," and street parking could absorb the loss of about 74 parking spaces. The lot would retain only about 15 spaces after the development.
The city police department currently receives about 1 call per week from the immediate area -mostly for noise disturbances such as from car radios.
Kelley predicted the increase in the number of residents and the residents' possible expectation of less downtown noise would increase the number of calls.
The greatest impact was shown in the study to be on handicapped parking for the Cheese Days Festival every other year. However, the study proposes the Old Armory Lot at 9th Street and 18th Avenue as a viable - and even safer - alternative location.
The study also provided a recommendation for four or five of the 15 remaining parking spaces to be designated for only use by the Green County Historical Society Museum on Saturdays and Sundays.
At a Plan Commission meeting Wednesday, Kelley presented a six-page study, developed in conjunction with the city's Engineering Department, outlining some of the impact on police services and traffic from the proposed north parking lot development.
According to the study, calls for police service could increase "perhaps 1 percent," and street parking could absorb the loss of about 74 parking spaces. The lot would retain only about 15 spaces after the development.
The city police department currently receives about 1 call per week from the immediate area -mostly for noise disturbances such as from car radios.
Kelley predicted the increase in the number of residents and the residents' possible expectation of less downtown noise would increase the number of calls.
The greatest impact was shown in the study to be on handicapped parking for the Cheese Days Festival every other year. However, the study proposes the Old Armory Lot at 9th Street and 18th Avenue as a viable - and even safer - alternative location.
The study also provided a recommendation for four or five of the 15 remaining parking spaces to be designated for only use by the Green County Historical Society Museum on Saturdays and Sundays.