Waynesville is stepping up to the plate to solve a parking bottleneck in Hazelwood Village, with plans to double the size of the public parking lot and spiff up its curb appeal.

Sylva is likely nearing the end of a months-long debate over a recurring question: is there a better way to do traffic on Main Street?

Based on public input and survey results, it appears the overwhelming majority of folks in Sylva are opposed to creating two-way traffic in the downtown area. 

Ask around downtown Sylva, and it’s not hard to find someone with an opinion about traffic. Main Street should be two-way. It should remain one-way. There’s not enough parking. The new parking area on Mill Street is a godsend. The recently installed posts and left-turn lanes are obnoxious and confusing to visitors, or they are a great way to slow the speed of traffic and prevent accidents.

Sylva police can now start enforcing a town ordinance aimed at paring down the number of unpaid parking tickets, thanks to a law recently adopted in Raleigh. 

Town commissioners are once again mulling over the question of two-way traffic in downtown Sylva with the conclusion of a traffic study from Waynesville-based J.M. Teague Engineering this month.

A parking enforcement ordinance in Sylva is making an appearance in the state Legislature.

Sylva’s parking rules now have a stronger set of teeth with the passage of an ordinance allowing officers to put wheel locks, also called parking boots, on cars whose owners have accrued unpaid town parking tickets. 

Quite a few parking tickets have gone unpaid in Sylva. Since 20011, a total of $7,585 worth of parking citations have gone unpaid.

“It’s pages of tickets,” said Sylva Town Manager Paige Dowling.

A section of Johnson Street in Canton has been closed following complaints that parked vehicles — repair jobs from Blackbear Automotive & Transmission — were creating a traffic hazard. 

“We’re after a safety issue. We’re not trying to close his business, but he seems to think otherwise,”  Jerry Mcfall, a resident living near the area in question, said at a specially called town meeting July 16. “Safety is our primary issue, and that’s what we’re here for.”