City reviews residential parking-permit program after consultant study of high-school area

City staff and a traffic consultant presented findings Feb. 10 on neighborhood parking near Tualatin High School and options to update the city's residential parking-permit program.

Chief Pickering introduced Jenna Barber of DKS Associates, who described field observations and parking counts near the school. DKS counted parked vehicles on neighborhood streets and the high school campus during two typical school days between about 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Barber reported the north (staff) lot at the high school had roughly 60 to 70 percent occupancy, leaving approximately 60 vacant stalls during the day. The south (student) lot had about 80 percent occupancy, leaving roughly 65 stalls unoccupied.

Barber said students commonly parked on parallel curb segments on Boones Ferry Road and on Iowa Drive because it can be quicker than waiting to enter or exit the school parking lots during peak commuter traffic on Boones Ferry. The consultant observed vehicle queues entering and exiting the south lot that at times extended back toward the signal at Ibach (the IBAC signal) and said these driveway delays make on-street parking attractive to students.

DKS reviewed mitigation options for the school and the city. School-focused ideas included changing student parking to a first-come, first-served policy rather than assigned stalls, carpool incentives, staging student release times and improved internal circulation such as connecting the north and south lots or adding a signalized driveway if warranted. Consultant recommendations for the municipal permit program included adopting a more robust, neighborhood-driven process used by some cities: resident petition and neighborhood ballot, a permit fee to support administration, and clearer criteria for creating or dissolving permit zones. Barber summarized three models used by other jurisdictions: a ballot-and-fee model (examples: Wilsonville, Tigard, Salem), the current staff/council-managed model used in Tualatin and peer cities (West Linn, Sherwood, Newberg), and time-limited restrictions applied broadly (examples: Lake Oswego, Canby).

Councilors raised concerns about merely shifting parking from one neighborhood to the next if only small areas are permitted, and questioned whether a neighborhood ballot process could simply relocate the problem. Several councilors suggested fees to cover administration and periodic renewal to avoid stale permits. Councilors also expressed reluctance to ask the school district to change bell times and noted some suggested measures (signals or major lot reconfiguration) carry substantial cost and operational trade-offs.

Chief Pickering said staff will continue internal discussions about restructuring the permit program, continue coordinating with the school district, and return to council with ordinance amendments and implementation options. No formal council action was taken Feb. 10.