Council refers crosswalk-parking enforcement change to Transportation & Parking and Legislative Matters

The council on Oct. 16 referred Ordinance 25.331, which would remove a "where posted" clause to allow enforcement of parking prohibitions at crosswalks citywide, to the Transportation & Parking Commission and the Legislative Matters committee for further review.

Council President Alex Jarrett explained the change was prompted by resident concerns about sight lines at the rail-trail crossing on Chestnut Street. "The law says that, you are not allowed to park upon any crosswalk or within 10 feet of either side of a crosswalk. However, it also says where posted. So, there is no way to presently enforce the the concerns and that there are sight line concerns there," Jarrett said, arguing that removing "where posted" would align crosswalk rules with other existing traffic prohibitions. He proposed public education and targeted posting in specific problem locations as part of implementation.

Councilor Elkins moved to refer the ordinance to the Transportation & Parking Commission and Legislative Matters; Councilor Maiori seconded. Councilor Perry suggested that in some trouble spots, selective posting might be useful and asked the committees to examine signage costs and locations.

Action: The referral passed by roll-call vote. The item will return to the council after the Transportation & Parking Commission and Legislative Matters committee review the proposal and possible targeted posting options.

Ending: Councilors directed staff and committees to consider both an enforceable citywide rule and targeted signage or education in locations with documented sight-line problems.