Foley adding parking on East Verbena Ave.

Foley adding parking on East Verbena Ave.

With city work to improve East Verbena Avenue nearing completion, Foley will be doing additional work to improve parking on the site.
The Foley City Council approved additional parking and drainage improvements on the road east of Hwy. 59. The work will cover a ditch on the east end of the street and add a gravel parking area on top of the site. The city recently improved sidewalks, lighting and the roadway at the site.
Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the work has increased the demand for parking near businesses in the area near the southern end of the Perry Wilboure Rose Trail. The city will replace open ditches with culverts, which will also improve pedestrian access in the area.
“We had some open ditches that kept pedestrians from walking,” Mayor Ralph Hellmich said. “We would improve that by putting in pipe and creating some gravel, permeable parking back there. It’s a lot of bang for the buck. It would allow people to park along that alley in the back and we’ll do a lot of this work ourselves.”
The mayor said three restaurants are now located on the one-block area on East Verbena and another is planned.
“It’s another thing that our city does to help support local existing businesses,” Hellmich said. “Putting in this parking on the driveway will be exactly that, supporting our local businesses.”