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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-521 NOVEMBER 22, 2011 11-521 ORDINANCE FIRST READING (CARRIED LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: APPROVAL OF PARKING REGULATION CHANGES ON IOWA STREET (NORTH OF 20TH AVENUE) AND MINERVA STREET (NORTH OF PACKER AVENUE) INITIATED BY: TRAFFIC REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING SECTION 27- 23(A-11) OF THE OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PARKING REGULATIONS ON DESIGNATED STREETS AND ALLEYS. The Common Council of the City of Oshkosh do ordain as follows: SECTION 1. That Section 27-23(A-11) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to parking regulations on designated streets and alleys is hereby amended as follows: A-11 PARKING REGULATIONS ON DESIGNATED STREETS AND ALLEYS IOWA STREET Add Thereto: No parking, both sides, from 20th Avenue to 60 feet north of 20th Avenue. MINERVA STREET Add Thereto: No parking, west side, from Packer Avenue to its northern terminus. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, publication and placement of the appropriate signage. SECTION 3. Publication Notice. Please take notice that the City of Oshkosh enacted ordinance #11-XXX (A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING SECTION 27-23(A-11) OF THE OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PARKING REGULATIONS ON DESIGNATED STREETS AND ALLEYS) on December 13, 2011. The ordinance changes on-street parking regulations on Iowa Street and Minerva Street. The full text of the ordinance may be obtained at the Office of the City Clerk, 215 Church Avenue and through the City's website at www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us. Clerk's phone: 920/236-5011. • OJHKO.f H ON THE WATER MEMORANDUM TO: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager FROM: Christopher Strong, Transportation Director DATE: November 16, 2011 RE: Explanation of Traffic Regulations Ordinance Changes SECTION 1: SECTION 27-23(A-11)— PARKING REGULATIONS A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON THE WEST SIDE OF MINERVA STREET FROM PACKER AVENUE TO ITS NORTHERN TERMINUS. (CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING.) This is a citizen request. This dead end section of Minerva Street has single-family detached housing on the west side of the street and multi-family apartment buildings on the east side of the street. According to the citizen making the request, residents in the apartments have been parking an increasing number of vehicles on Minerva Street, which is becoming a nuisance, particularly with respect to overnight parking. (The overnight parking appears to be in compliance with the City's permit requirements.) In addition, the citizen is concerned that this type of parking could cause problems with snow removal in the winter months. The following guidelines relate the type of parking restriction that is appropriate for each street, according to its width. Street Width Parking Restrictions Less than 17 feet Both Sides (All cases) 17 to 24 feet One Side (All cases) 25 to 33 feet Valid Petition 34 feet and over None The street width of Minerva Street in this area is 30-32 feet. For streets of this width, several factors come into consideration, which in this case could be used to reject or support parking restrictions. On the one hand, there are no particular concerns with traffic volumes or visibility on this street where parking removal is necessary to protect vehicular or pedestrian safety. Moreover, on a local street with no outlet, the existing street is wide enough to support parking and typical snow removal operations. On the other hand, the properties facing this street appear to have adequate off-street parking to comply with appropriate City requirements. In a case like this, the Board typically looks to the interests of local residents in determining whether a parking restriction on a local street between 25 feet and 33 feet in width is appropriate. The Department sent out notices to affected property owners on both sides of the street, so they will be able to provide comment for this meeting. Page 2 of 3 Explanation of Traffic Ordinance Changes FROM TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD MEETING(11-8-11) MINUTES: Board members received copies of three letters in opposition to this request. Mr. Kaprelian said this would remove the parking for residents on the west side of the street. He was opposed to the request. Mr. Kline said it was a wide street and did not think this was necessary. He felt it would be detrimental to the single family residences. Mr. Ross noted the overnight parking appears to be in compliance with the City's permit requirements and he would not want to remove parking because of this. Ms. Tanya Beulen, 2743 Minerva Street, lives directly across from the apartments. She learned from the manager of the apartments in July 2011 that they were starting to have overflow parking problems. Currently,the tenants are assigned an outside parking stall and a parking garage. If a tenant is unable to park in either space, they were told they needed to get a permit to park on the street. The number of vehicles parking on the street has increasingly grown. Because of this, Ms. Beulen and her husband have difficulty exiting their driveway. She said there is the noise factor and the difficulty with snow removal to contend with. She said the three to five houses closest to Packer Avenue are impacted the most. She noted there is also a vacant lot farther down the street, which is slated for another apartment building in the near future; this could make the existing problem worse. Ms. Stacy Howe, 2733 Minerva Street, is in agreement with Ms. Beulen. The first two to three houses toward the southern end of the block have problems caused by on-street parking. The parties in opposition to parking removal live near the cul- de-sac at the northern end and don't have the problems caused by the on-street parking. Mr. Seybold said the problem will only get worse after the other apartment building is built. Mr. Ross noted if parking is removed from one side of the street, no overnight parking permits can be issued. Mr. Kaprelian felt the removal of parking would just drive the tenants to park further south. Mr. Schuster questioned if we could remove parking on part of the block and not punish the people down by the cul-de-sac. Mr. Kaprelian said for him to support the request, parking would have to be removed the whole length of the block. Ms. Howe said she understands their concerns but a partial restriction would just push the apartment tenants in front of their homes. She feels it is up to the apartment building owners to provide adequate parking spaces for their tenants. Ms. Beulen said with the layout of the cul-de-sac, there are only two on-street parking spaces available in the cul-de-sac. She told the Board this request was the result of trying to remove overnight parking on the street. Mr. Hamilton felt if the parking were removed, this will create problems for all residents. He said the problem sounded more of an issue at night than during the day. Mr. Kaprelian observed seven to eight vehicles parked on the street last night. Page 3 of 3 Explanation of Traffic Ordinance Changes Because the residents, who spoke at this meeting, realize they will lose parking, they have changed his opinion. Mr. Schuster is inclined to go along with the opinions of the residents, who spoke at the meeting. Mr. Hamilton felt this is a problem between the apartment complex and the residents. He is opposed. PASSED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD(5-1) A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF IOWA STREET FROM 20TH AVENUE TO 60 FEET NORTH OF 20TH AVENUE. (CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING.) This is a citizen request. (Rob Faust, 1639 Iowa, 237-1674) The Department has received complaints from several citizens about parking on Iowa Street that is too close to the intersection with 20th Avenue. The concern is not that vehicles are restricting sight distance, but rather that the presence of vehicles close to the intersection makes it difficult for vehicles to turn safely onto or off of 20th Avenue. Iowa Street is a local street, 32 feet in width; therefore, the same guidelines apply here as did under the previous item. Our department does not have record of any reported crashes on this block of Iowa Street involving on-street parking, and sight distance is adequate. However, traffic volumes here (on both streets) are likely higher than those at the intersection of Minerva Street and Packer Avenue. This is a factor which would tend to provide greater support for on-street parking restrictions. The proposed ordinance would extend the no parking space slightly further away from the intersection, eliminating two parking spaces on each side of the road. This should have little impact on adjacent properties, but it may provide some additional room near the intersection to help prevent accidents involving vehicles turning onto Iowa Street from 20th Avenue. FROM TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD MEETING(11-8-11) MINUTES Board members received a copy of a letter in favor of this request. Mr. Kline said theoretically the vehicles will move down the street but he understands the reason for the request. Mr. Ross asked how many vehicles park on the street. Mr. Strong replied there are vehicles parked about two-thirds of the way down the block. Mr. Schuster sees no problem with 60 feet. Mr. Kline asked who had requested the 60 feet. Mr. Strong answered it was requested by the Police Department. Mr. Kaprelian has observed the difficulty vehicles have making turns at this corner. Mr. Kaprelian suggested notifying Oshkosh Truck Corporation that if this continues, they will be losing the parking on the surrounding streets. PASSED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD (6-0)