Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Traffic Parking Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council discusses parking near hydrants, painted curb idea and Kings Road weight-limit petition
Summary
Public safety committee members heard resident petitions about parking near hydrants, traffic speeds and a requested weight limit on Kings Road and asked staff to study signage, enforcement and engineering data; no regulatory change was made at the meeting.
The Public Safety Committee discussed multiple community complaints about parking near fire hydrants, speeding and a request to post a weight limit on Kings Road during its May 19 meeting.
Committee members and staff emphasized that the city’s fire-code distance from a hydrant is 15 feet and that inconsistent signage is causing confusion. Several council members recommended painting curb markings or otherwise improving on-street signage at hydrants to reduce ticketing and improve visibility; the committee asked the city to compile a list of hydrants that generate frequent tickets and said staff should prioritize those locations. Public works staff cautioned that city painters typically perform such work and that volunteer painting of city infrastructure is discouraged.
Residents and councilors also raised repeated complaints about speeding in the Upper Union/Woodlawn neighborhoods and asked whether speed tables or radar advisory signs might help. Staff reported that engineering had performed counts and sensor studies on Kings Road and found no warrant for stop signs; engineering said the corridor is a minor arterial and typically is not suited for speed tables or stop-sign installation unless traffic studies show a safety need. The committee asked police and engineering to consider radar advisory signs and public education.
A petition asking for an 8-ton weight limit on Kings Road was discussed. City engineers noted that an existing industrial business on the Rotterdam side of the bridge uses trucks in excess of the proposed limit; posting a weight restriction without local exceptions could disrupt an existing business. Engineering advised that, if the council wanted to post limits, the signs would likely need to be posted with a “local deliveries excepted” qualifier or handled by a rezoning/restrictive approach after further study.
The committee directed engineering and police to continue outreach, assemble supporting data on hydrant ticketing and traffic patterns, and coordinate with the fire department and downtown stakeholders on any proposed signage changes. No ordinance change or posting was adopted at the meeting; staff were asked to return with findings and options.
