Residents press commission to address trash, safety on Fifth Street; staff to monitor speeds and pickups

Residents and commissioners sparred over whether a paved public parking strip on Fifth Street should be converted to permit-only residential parking, with neighbors saying trash, overnight vehicles and unsafe U-turns have worsened since the area was paved for public parking.

The dispute reached the City Commission on May 5 after residents petitioned the city. Chuck Knight, who identified himself as a Fifth Street resident, told commissioners: “I wish every 1 of you on Monday morning could drive down there and forget about the short term rental thing. Look at the garbage that we have to pick up and watch the speeding that happens.” Ashley Trichette, another resident, said the frequent searching for parking creates safety risks for children and pets and urged enforcement of existing rules.

Commissioners and staff described the strip as long-used public parking that was improved with pavers in 2018. City staff said many houses on the opposite side of the strip now operate as short-term rentals, and existing code requires vacation rentals to provide on-site parking for guests and to use public parking only when on-site spaces are inadequate.

Public safety and operations staff told the commission they would not immediately change the area’s status to resident-only parking. Instead, the commission directed a package of steps to reduce the problems raised by residents: deployment of a portable speed-and-count device to measure speeds and traffic volumes; additional trash receptacles and targeted extra public-works pickup, especially after busy weekend days; and increased enforcement patrols to address illegal or hazardous behavior. Public works staff said they will place additional cans where feasible and run extra collection on Mondays and other busy times. Police staff said they can perform a speed study and increase enforcement if data show a problem.

Commissioners emphasized that the petition process in the city does not automatically require approval of resident-only restrictions and that the city must apply ordinances consistently. Several commissioners said they preferred enforcement and physical fixes—such as widening the turnaround at the street end and adding signage—before creating new permanent parking limits that might set a precedent for other east-of-boulevard streets.

Staff said they will return to the commission with the speed/count results and a summary of actions taken. The commission did not vote to change the parking designation at the May 5 meeting.

Ending

For now, city staff will collect data and add trash pickups and targeted enforcement; residents said they will continue to press for solutions if problems persist.