Healdsburg to get first one-way street

It took the relocation of the post office to prompt what is thought to be the first one-way street in Healdsburg since the town's founding in 1857.

By next month, Foss Creek Circle is expected to become one-way to better accommodate the increased vehicle traffic generated since the post office moved there two years ago.

"Historically, it's the first one-way street in the City of Healdsburg in 150-plus years," Mayor Gary Plass said before the council's unanimous vote last weekto change the circulation to one-way.

After a fire at the downtown post office two years ago, the U.S. Postal Service relocated all of its operations to the the mail carrier annex on Foss Creek Circle.

City officials were unsuccessful in trying to convince postal officials to stay downtown.

The added traffic on Foss Creek Circle resulted in more congestion and some accidents on the street, which is lined with offices, condominiums and warehouses.

A survey by the city showed a majority of businesses and residents on the street favored changing it to a one-way loop -- but not the post office.

Healdsburg Postmaster Joe Machado said parking is causing the problem and the council should consider another alternative.

City officials have said the narrow two-way street has parking on the majority of both sides and exiting driveways can be dangerous.

Under the one-way plan, vehicles will enter the south end of Foss Creek Circle from Grove Street and circulate clockwise.

Due to space constraints, Machado said, he was hesitant to relocate the drop-off mailboxes to the other side of the driveway to accommodate the one-way pattern.

But Councilman Jim Wood noted that traffic was never an issue until the intensified use of the post office.

"I'm not going to show a lot of love for the challenges of the post office," he said.

Plass said he felt strongly that the post office can overcome "this little issue and move those boxes."

Public Works Director Mike Kirn said benefits of the clockwise, one-way loop include providing a wider traffic lane and eliminating the potential for head-on accidents and sideswipes.

He said workers will install red curbs, as appropriate, to improve sight distance for exiting cars. The cost to create the one-way street is estimated at $9,200 for navigational signs, removal and installation of pavement markings, labor, and rental of a message sign alerting drivers to "Changed Condition Ahead."

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com