Sylva First United Methodist Church members have requested that Church Street, which connects Jackson and Cowan streets, be closed to facilitate future church expansion. Town of Sylva leaders have postponed action until they receive information concerning the cost of improving a little-used section of Cowan Street to provide alternate access to residences there. If Church Street (left) is closed, adequate access to Cowan Street for emergency vehicles will not be available unless Cowan Street (right) is improved between Church and Morris streets, said Tommy Thompson, Sylva's town clerk. The town's three-member Street Committee, which met July 11 at Harris Regional Hospital, agreed to fund half of a $1,000 engineering assessment. This study would detail improvements required to that section of Cowan Street. Joe Hurt, president of the Methodist Church's trustees, indicated the church will pay the other half of the study cost. Church Street, which bisects the Methodists' property and separates the buildings from parking areas, was relocated some 20 years ago to allow room for the church to construct its Asbury Room. Cowan Street's lower portion cannot currently accommodate two-way traffic, and the turn onto Cowan from Morris is too sharp to allow emergency vehicle access, Thompson said. - Herald photo by Lynn Hotaling |