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Council schedules ordinance to ban parking on Thistle Drive after resident complaint
Summary
After a resident raised safety concerns about commercial loading and parked vehicles on Thistle Drive, police recommended prohibiting parking; council supported placing an ordinance amendment on the March 18 consent agenda for consideration.
The Leon Valley City Council took up a first reading of an ordinance that would amend the traffic and parking code to prohibit parking along Thistle Drive, after residents complained that parked commercial vehicles and delivery trucks intermittently block sight lines and force drivers over the center line.
Police Chief David Gonzalez told the council that Thistle Drive serves as the entrance for two subdivisions (The Ridge at Leon Valley and Bresard Estates) and runs adjacent to several businesses. He described days when car carriers and other vehicles park on both sides of the street and said drivers are sometimes forced to cross the double yellow line to pass.
Chief Gonzalez presented photos and described low-cost mitigation options such as signage and red curb painting; he said signage could be installed using the city’s traffic-safety account and that the council could choose the precise restriction (one side or both). Councilors asked whether the city had cited vehicles in past incidents; the chief said officers issue citations when they can but cannot be present continuously.
Several councilors and a resident who raised the original complaint, Tyrone (Darren) Charles of the Ridge at Leon Valley, supported a no-parking designation. The council reached consensus to include the ordinance amendment for parking restrictions on the March 18 consent agenda. This was a first reading only; no ordinance vote was taken at the meeting.
Background and next steps: City staff said the item will return for adoption on the consent agenda; the proposed code change was read as an amendment to Chapter 12, Article 12.03.006 (Parking Restrictions on Specific Streets). If adopted, the ordinance will add the Thistle Drive prohibition to the local code and staff said implementation could include painted curb and signs and enforcement by the police department.
No formal penalty changes were adopted at this meeting; any fines will follow the city’s existing parking and traffic citation schedule.
