Upgrades Made to Free Public Feature at The Bridge and Officials Say Many Know About, and Many Don't
By Jeff Toquinto on May 20, 2025
It’s been in place for nearly a year now, and it sees plenty of use, but some in the area may not know of a free service at The Bridge that many parents – and future drivers – may want to take advantage of.
In August of 2024, Melissa Kaiser, Driver Education Instructor at Bridgeport High School, collaborated with General Manager of The Bridge Droo Callahan to create a parallel parking practice area. The practice area is located along the hill side on the roadway leading to the outdoor
basketball court.
basketball court.
Kaiser designed into to meet West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles specifications, which leaves it as a practice area of eight feet wide and 25 feet long. It also includes a painted line 18 inches from the curb, which as those who have taken the DMV’s driving test and parallel parked, the line must not be visible when opening the vehicle’s door.
Callahan said at a recent gathering of The Bridge Advisory Committee that the space still sees plenty of use. And there have been upgrades since the area was reserved for the parallel parking area.
“The high school regularly brings kids over to practice there and we see kids coming at all hours to practice their parking there,” said Callahan, who has taken 
his own daughter there for practice.
his own daughter there for practice.
Callahan was a little skeptical of the concept at first, thinking it might be better placed at the school. However, he said the education facility may have different dynamics and the space at The Bridge is not used a lot.
“Since working with (Kaiser), we’ve added some signs that show the kids, or anyone else, how to utilize it,” said Callahan. “It’s a nice feature a lot of people take advantage of and probably a lot of people doesn’t know is there.”
The practice area is open to the public. There is no cost to use it.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows a vehicle looking to practice at the facility, while the bottom photo shows a sign that put in place after it first opened last August.
Leave a Comment
Log in or create an account to post a comment.