Commission outlines 5‑year parking plan with six clusters, prioritizes crosswalk upgrades and delivery-spot review for council

Commissioners reviewed a detailed implementation plan for parking and street changes that staff described as a five-year plan broken into six geographic or needs-based clusters, with the first cluster focused on high-priority areas near the high school and several narrow streets.

Staff said Cluster 1 would target narrow, higher-volume blocks — including Newport, East 1, Selma, Bradford, Sylvester, Plant Valley and East Lockwood — where street widths are 18 feet or less. The plan calls for field measurements, traffic volumes, residential density counts, signage inventory and code review before proposing changes for public input on affected blocks.

Commissioners were told that ordinance or municipal-code amendments will be required for some changes and that city council would review a staff presentation that breaks down implementation steps, cost estimates and time frames. At the meeting a staff member said the commission’s work would be presented to council so the council can give direction on next steps; one commissioner noted a current scheduling estimate for some elements of the work of about two and a half years while staff described the overall program as a five-year plan.

The commission also confirmed it has submitted its recommendation on delivery spots to staff for review and routing to the city manager. A commissioner recounted a recent near-miss at an intersection and urged faster action on crosswalk improvements as part of the commission’s 2025 priorities.

Members debated pedestrian-safety tools beyond painted crosswalks, including edge-line striping to narrow travel lanes, painted curb bulbs and flashing, signaled crosswalks. Commissioners noted that signaled crosswalks and flashing beacons cost more and require budgeted funds; one proposal discussed at the meeting was to set a predictable schedule, for example funding one signaled crosswalk per year and publishing a multi-year priority list.

The meeting also covered a request tied to the KBC Children's Hospital site: neighbors and hospital leadership have asked for residential parking restrictions and routing that would reduce school-bus traffic on certain residential streets. Commissioners said staff will coordinate with council or drafters of any restrictions and work to involve neighbors and hospital leadership.

Finally, the commission discussed its annual report to city council, due in March, and decided to form a subcommittee to prepare a draft before the February meeting so the commission can finalize the report before the March deadline.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to accept minutes: moved and seconded; voice vote in favor recorded as “Aye.” Outcome: approved. - Motion to adjourn: moved and seconded; voice vote in favor recorded as “Aye.” Outcome: approved.

Why this matters: The clustering approach is intended to concentrate staff resources on the most constrained streets first and to build a public process for changes that could include ordinance amendments; prioritizing crosswalk upgrades and defining a predictable funding cadence would set resident expectations for safety investments.