Cummins, Inc. has plans to spruce up a downtown parking lot.
The Columbus Plan Commission has approved Cummins’ site development plan for changes to its parking lot at the corner of Sixth and Jackson streets. The plan was approved with one condition, which was that Cummins vacate some of the remaining interior property lines at the site.
Commission Vice President Michael Kinder recused himself from the discussion and vote due to being a Cummins employee.
According to a staff report, Cummins plans to “reconfigure” the existing parking lot.
“The parking lot will incorporate vacant parcels that previously contained a building, but that structure was demolished a few years ago,” the report stated. “…Beyond the parking lot, the applicant has also included curb and sidewalk improvements in the right-of-way along the east side of Jackson Street between 5th and 6th streets and at the corner of Jackson and Fifth streets.”
Cummins is also proposing a “decorative thermoplastic treatment” to the parking lot that includes a large Cummins logo in the center.
Assistant Planning Director Melissa Begley said Cummins proposes using the area for both visitor parking and event space.
David Wissmann, Cummins’ facility leader for the Indiana campus, said that the “multi-use space” will help facilitate marketing and other company events and potentially serve other downtown events as well.
Cummins’ plans also include green spaces and landscaping, as well as two entrances on Sixth Street, Begley said.
In discussing the site development plan, Commission Member Barry Kastner asked if it would be better for Sixth Street, which is currently one-way, to become a two-way street.
Local resident JoAnne Brookes submitted a comment in which she expressed concerns about one of the entrances potentially creating a traffic hazard. She also said that there are issues at present with Cummins employees “disregarding the one-way street” and asked what would be done to prevent a hazardous situation.
“The reason Sixth Street is one-way is because when you get to Washington Street, if you have two-way traffic, they can’t see because of the parked cars on the other side of Washington Street,” said Commissioner and City Engineer Dave Hayward. “And we haven’t found a good solution to that problem yet. There’s very little traffic on Sixth Street, and we don’t anticipate that it would have very much even if we made it two-way.”
Wissmann also said, in response to Kastner, that he believes the street is fine as is and hasn’t seen any “particular issues with the flow of traffic.”
Pete Rankovich, a civil engineer on the project, said that the parking lot will only have about 25 spaces, which is not a “high volume.”
The site plan also states that Cummins intends to “vacate a portion of the east-west alley south of the parking lot.”
Rankovich said, in regards to the alley off of Jackson Street, “We’re trying to reduce the conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles at that location. That existing drive is a little narrower to begin with, so that just eliminated, at this point, only for emergency vehicles.”
