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Council postpones Twelfth Street parking ban after public pushback; members agree to test limits on 200 block
Summary
A proposed city ordinance to ban daytime parking on North Twelfth Street was postponed indefinitely after council members and residents discussed local impacts; council directed staff to prepare a published proposal limited to the 200 block for further public comment.
The Common Council postponed a proposed ordinance to ban parking on North Twelfth Street on Jan. 28 after council members and residents raised concerns about displacement, safety and effects on older residents.
The ordinance (PL 6-25), introduced earlier in the process, would have prohibited parking on North Twelfth Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays; sponsors originally filed changes that would remove prior parking restrictions and impose the new hours citywide on the street. During committee discussion Alderman Robinson and others described safety issues caused by heavy parking on the 200 block that can impede school buses and large vehicles and said the restriction was intended to ease bottlenecks during business hours.
Council members also said many residents who live on the street oppose a blanket ban and worried that removing parking on one block would push problems to the 100 or 300 blocks. Several members proposed a narrower approach: restrict parking only on the 200 block during business hours and monitor the result. Changing the scope to the 200 block, however, would require republication and reposting of the ordinance language and timelines.
President Oliver Crawford made a motion to postpone PL 6-25 indefinitely; Alderman Robinson seconded the motion and the committee carried the motion by voice vote. Crawford asked staff to prepare a republished version targeting the 200 block and to make it available for public comment at the next regular meeting.
Public commenters who live on or near North Twelfth Street expressed mixed views. Chris Kranick said he initiated the 200-block request because a commercial tree service operating in the residential area uses large vehicles and trailers that regularly block the street. Laurie McCarthy and other residents from the 100 block said they rely on curbside parking and warned that removing it could increase speeding and make it harder for visitors and elderly residents to access homes. Charlotte Hardy urged council members to notify directly affected homeowners before changing parking rights.
Ending: The council left the ordinance open for revision and public comment; members asked the administration to prepare a 200-block-specific draft and to publish notification of that change before the next hearing.
