Village staff presented recommendations from a downtown parking work group on Aug. 4 aimed at addressing safety, inconsistent signage and unclear code that the group said make parking enforcement and use confusing for residents and visitors.
The work group — composed of business owners, property owners, staff and residents — met three times between April and July and identified lighting deficiencies (particularly near Meyer Street and Dukes), a vehicle blind spot at the North River/Jackson Street intersection, and unclear parking rules in the village code as priorities. The draft code presented to trustees is lengthy and staff described it as a working draft intended to be converted to ordinance form for future board action.
Top recommendations the group prioritized were increased down-directed lighting to improve safety, restriping or time-limited compact-car stalls to resolve a blind-spot collision hazard and experimenting with curb-color coordination for clear on-street regulatory guidance (red for no parking, green for time-restricted parking), though public works raised maintenance and aesthetic concerns about curb painting. Staff also said the village has begun front-facing mapping and a GIS parking dashboard to give a clearer visual of on-street and off-street parking supply.
Trustees asked staff to return with clearer maps and visuals, to assess winter-parking policy and enforcement, and to coordinate with the police and fire departments on safety impacts. Deputy Chief Ritter and Public Works Director Phil Cotter were involved in the work group's review, and staff said they would refine the draft code and bring an ordinance back for consideration (staff suggested returning in ordinance form on Aug. 18).
Why it matters: Downtown parking, signage and lighting affect visitor access, business operations and public safety. Clear regulations and a visible map are intended to make enforcement and public use more consistent and to reduce hazards.
Next steps: Staff will translate the draft table into a proposed ordinance, prepare visual maps to illustrate recommended changes, coordinate with police and fire on safety issues, and return to the board with an ordinance and implementation plan. No ordinance vote occurred Aug. 4.
Ending: Board members asked for community notification before any new restrictions are implemented; staff said they would bring back public-facing maps and proposed ordinance language for the board’s review.