NE Second Street in Smithville will become a one-way street beginning June 5.

The Smithville City Council unanimously voted Monday night to turn NE Second Street between Olive and Main streets into a one-way access road to help alleviate traffic congestion and promote safety.

"It’s in the best interests of motorists and pedestrians," City Manager Robert Tamble said before the vote.

With Honey’s, Amy’s Ice Cream and Midnight Monkey Mercantile drawing in large numbers of pedestrian and auto traffic, the narrow width of Second Street is unable to manage parking and two-way traffic, Tamble stated in a recent report.

"Extended cab trucks and large SUV’s exacerbate the problem as they obstruct visibility," he added.

Tamble first spoke to downtown businesses owners about the proposed change and they agreed, he said.

Traffic will flow east on Second Street from Main Street. Parking will be angled at 45 degree on both sides of the street, allowing for 12 feet of roadway. This plan allows the street to maintain the 48 parking spaces that are currently available, a desire of the business owners to have enough parking for their customers.

Tamble cautioned that if the proposed plan doesn’t create a safer atmosphere, then the parking spaces would be angled 30 degrees, to provide for 15 feet of driving clearance on the roadway. That change would eliminate eight street parking spaces.

City crews will restripe the roadway to accommodate one-way traffic and install signage.

The city also has planned a communication push to inform residents of the new traffic flow change.