More parking changes on the way

The City Council’s Transportation and Public Works Committee on July 24, 2012 approved several modifications to parking in the Uptown area. Specifically, they approved the addition of two blocks of critical parking area (permit parking) and the addition of one block of parking meters.

The changes, which still need final approval from the City Council, include the following blocks:

1300 block of 31st Street
This block will get parking meters installed. The properties facing that block will be allowed to buy parking permits for Critical Parking Area #21, which includes the 3000 blocks of Fremont Avenue and Emerson Avenue, as well as the pending 3100 block of Girard Avenue and 3000 block of Knox Avenue. Those with permits will not get free parking at the meters.

3100 block of Girard
This block will join the 3000 blocks of Emerson, Fremont, and Knox (pending) in Critical Parking Area #21. This will allow anyone on any four of those blocks plus the 1300 block of 31st Street to park anywhere within those districts with a permit. The hours will match across all three blocks, which is enforced 9:00am through 2:00am, Monday through Sunday.

3000 block of Knox
This block will also join Critical Parking Area #21 but have hours of 9:00am through 10:00pm, Monday through Sunday.

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The staff report states that the hours of enforcement were picked due to the hours of the most activity. In order to get the districts, each block had to get at least 75% of the residents (people actually living in a housing unit, so apartment building owners don’t get a say). In addition, Public Works had to determine that over 33% of those parked on the block were non-residents during the hours of enforcement, and more than one block is making the request.

In asking Council Member Tuthill’s office on her view on the proposed permit parking, Leslie Foreman (policy aide) indicated that Council Member Tuthill would support permit parking on blocks where residents petition and meet the City’s requirements for permit parking but that she wouldn’t seek or organize any blocks in establishing permit parking.

When asked about how this proposed change would impact other blocks, Tim Drew, the parking guru and traffic engineer of Public Works, stated that the City collected parking data on adjacent streets and will take that along with new data should any additional critical parking areas be considered in the future.

If you live on those blocks and want a permit, the City will be reaching out to you via a mailing and by visiting the blocks. You can learn more about Critical Parking Areas at the City’s special webpage on it. It has information on obtaining permits, the number of permits a resident can obtain, temporary permits for guests, and more.

Thatcher Imboden

How cities work and change, how they are the product of their inhabitants and outside forces, and the resulting livability keep me thinking and dreaming about the future. I work in urban real estate development, am Past President of an Uptown business organization, grew up in Uptown, was on an Uptown neighborhood association Board, and am an Uptown and Lyn-Lake historian.

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