2009-02-02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 Mr. Taliaferro said he has observed illegally parked cars blocking handicapped ramps at corners. Mr. Huja expressed concern that reducing parking on streets to one hour will not be sufficient for people having lunch and shopping. Ms. Branch said the idea is to encourage more efficient use of the spaces around the mall. She said the streets beyond Market and Water Street would remain two-hour parking. She said the idea is to also encourage parking in lots and garages. Mr. Huja said he thinks the recommendation for Garrett Street is a good idea, but expressed concern about one-waying the portion of Garrett Street. He said this has been tried before and it failed. nd Ms. Jeanie Alexander, Traffic Engineer, said it would only be one-way from 2 Street to Gleason and will maximize parking. She noted that 23 parking spaces cannot be added if it is not made two-way. Mr. Huja said park and ride is a good idea, but we still need future parking. Mr. Taliaferro said he is not too supportive of privatization of enforcement as it has not worked well in other places and has potential legal issues. Mr. Huja said he has concern about parking meters. Ms. Branch noted that parking meters are widely used in other cities. Mr. Norris noted that the recommendation is not to proceed with parking meters at this time. Mr. O’Connell noted that parking meters also have a cost associated with them, but said it can continue to be looked at. Ms. Edwards said she agrees with Mr. Taliaferro about privatization of enforcement. She said she would like to hear more about how efficiencies can be measured. She said it is also important to thank about transit improvements, and suggested giving developers the option of contributing money for transit improvements. She asked if there is a way to make park and ride realistic for people to use. Mr. Huja asked if one-waying Garrett Street could be done on a temporary basis to see if it works. Ms. Alexander said that can be done, but there would be the expense of removing the paint. Dr. Brown said he does not think it will be a problem with the way the road is laid out. Mr. Taliaferro said he would like to encourage a pilot for park and ride. Mr. Norris said staff came up with a creative solution on Garrett Street, but he asked why backing into the parking spaces is recommended. Ms. Alexander said it is safer because of the site lines when you leave the space. She said there will be a public education piece, and noted that this type of parking has been successfully implemented throughout the country. Mr. Norris said he thinks we need consistency with the on-street parking time limits to avoid confusion. He said he thinks the current time limit seems to work pretty well. He said there is nothing to address where two hour parking shufflers are going to park. He agreed that he is not sure one hour is enough for eating or shopping. He said he thinks the existing 15 and 30 minutes spaces serve a valuable purpose.