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Riverside neighborhood request to revert to two-sided parking tabled for traffic working-group study
Summary
Residents urged the commission to revert portions of the Riverside neighborhood from one-sided parking back to two-sided parking. After extensive public comment the commission voted to table the request and ask the traffic working group to study feasibility and winter/snow-emergency handling.
Dozens of Riverside residents and the Ward 5 councilor asked the Traffic Commission on June 12 to restore two-sided parking on several neighborhood streets, saying one-sided parking implemented after 2021 has reduced available spaces and created hardship for long-term homeowners.
Residents described narrow curb-to-curb widths (staff said approximately 24 feet in some locations) and offered testimony that emergency apparatus had not historically been blocked. The director of parking, Zach Bobo, replied that the one-sided arrangement dates to changes around 2021 related to construction and that enforcement and signage have been inconsistent; he said the city had previously posted “no parking either side” signage in parts of Riverside and that behavior and compliance had varied.
Several residents said they cannot park near their homes, receive tickets when visitors arrive, and that driveway space and household vehicle counts make the current configuration impractical. Staff and commissioners raised concerns about snowplow and large-vehicle access: the public-works representative stated a DPW plow is 11 feet 2 inches wide and that two-sided parking can leave insufficient clearance for plows, fire apparatus and other service vehicles on some streets.
After extended public comment the commission voted to table the request for 30 days and directed the traffic working group to perform a feasibility study that includes street-width measurements, public-safety access checks, and consideration of winter/emergency restrictions or seasonal/declared-emergency rules. One commissioner suggested a possible compromise with winter restrictions or other hybrid arrangements; another asked for a formal study rather than ad hoc changes to solve recurring disagreements.
The chair recorded that the item will return after the traffic working group reports back with recommendations, including specific feasibility findings for the nine streets listed in the petition.
