Neighbors, clean-up group push no-parking after dark on Irving Avenue; committee asks police to review

Residents and a neighborhood environmental group told the Lawrence Ordinance Committee on Sept. 9 that a no-parking restriction after dark on parts of Irving Avenue should be tried to discourage illegal dumping, drug activity and other nighttime problems along the riverbank.

Patrick Proust (listed on the meeting record earlier as "Patrick Pruse"), speaking for Clean River Project, described ongoing cleanups along the Spicket River and said volunteers and neighbors are forming a neighborhood watch. "This area has seen a buildup of trash, drug activity, and illegal dumping," he told the committee, and asked the committee to consider a no-parking ban during overnight hours to reduce late-night activity.

Local business owner Yuri Lopez, who said he has run a business at 279 Irving Ave. for about 18 years, told the committee he sees people parking overnight to drink, smoke and leave trash in the morning. He said most dumping appears to happen at night and urged the council to consider the restriction for the sections that lack adjacent housing.

Committee members visited or discussed site observations and said the neighborhood’s cleanup volunteer effort — and their willingness to organize a neighborhood watch — encouraged them to move quickly on a review. Council members amended the item’s advertised hours (the agenda listed 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and voted to change it to 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.; they then voted to send the amended proposal to the Lawrence Police Department for a traffic and enforcement review and asked the department to expedite its response.

Committee members who spoke raised questions about whether a ban would simply displace dumping to another nearby location. One member said the city must pair enforcement and community engagement to obtain long-term change instead of relying on periodic cleanups.

The formal actions recorded in the meeting transcript were: an amendment to change the restriction to 6 p.m.–7 a.m. (motion passed) and a referral to the police department for review with a request for an expedited report (motion passed). The transcript shows voice votes with "ayes" but no recorded roll-call tallies in the public audio text.

Next steps: the committee forwarded the amended proposal to the police department for a traffic-safety and enforcement assessment and requested that officers prioritize a review because volunteers are actively working in the area. The committee’s action does not itself create a parking ban; the police report will advise whether the proposal is workable from a traffic, enforcement and safety perspective.