Mt Rushmore Road Project could remove some on-street parking - KOTA Territory News

Mt Rushmore Road Project could remove some on-street parking

At Tuesday's Public Works Committee meeting, the South Dakota Department of Transportation made a request to get rid of the on-street parking on Mount Rushmore Road from Kansas City Street to Saint Patrick Street.

Mount Rushmore Road land and business owners voiced concern about how the request will affect their business and everyday life.

But DOT Chief Road Designer Mark Leiferman says eliminating on-street parking and adding medians will help business in the long run. "Traffic is going to increase so if we don't build the medians I feel that there's going to be an increase in accidents and a level of assurance will go down and then actually the customers will probably start avoiding Mt. Rushmore road," said Leiferman. "As far as the parking we're being proactive there too."

It's been more than a decade since Mount Rushmore Road had any pavement repairs.

The Public Works Committee made no recommendation to the Rapid City Council. The matter will be discussed further Monday night at the City Council meeting.