DERRY — Parking is no longer allowed on Rollins Street from the intersection of Franklin Street to the intersection of Maple Street.

The Town Council recently unanimously approved the recommendation made by the town’s Highway Safety Committee in April.

“The primary reason is that the road itself is 21 feet wide and there is a sidewalk on one side and no real space on the other side of the road to accommodate parking,” said public works director Mike Fowler.

Council chairman Brad Benson said he travels down the downtown road several times a day and has noticed the problem.

“If you are heading out toward Crystal Avenue, people are parking on the right-hand side, partially on the street and partially on the grass,” said Benson. “There can be anywhere from one to five cars parked there and the road becomes about 12-feet wide. You come off the stop sign and you can’t get around them.”

Benson said the problem has gotten worse recently and he said he believes most of the parked cars are people visiting residents in the neighborhood.

“It happens a lot and it makes the road very unpassable,” he said. “I run into it at 3 in the afternoon, at 7 at night, and on weekdays and weekends.”

Safety committee member Al Dimmock said he uses Rollins Street often and has also come across the parking issue.

“It’s not safe,” he said. “Other people who use the road can’t get through. The whole street is like that. The other side of Franklin Street has no parking and it should be the same from the beginning of the street.”

Fowler agreed that when people park on one side of the road, it narrows down the width of the road to the point where only one car at a time can get through.

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