Alliance council advances passenger-loading ordinance; third reading left open for comment

The Alliance City Council on March 3 gave unanimous approval to the second reading of Ordinance No. 3016, a proposal that would add Section 26-59 to the municipal code to authorize city-designated passenger loading zones and to prohibit loading or unloading outside those locations.

Under the ordinance, drivers would be required to use marked loading areas and follow posted directions; violations would occur only when drivers load or unload passengers outside designated areas or leave vehicles unattended in a marked loading zone. The ordinance text specifically bars stopping in travel lanes, fire lanes, intersections and crosswalks and gives the city authority to post and enforce loading zones.

Vice Mayor Mashburn asked council to allow additional public comment and did not support waiving the third reading; the motion for second reading carried 5-0. Mayor McGhehey noted the city had received letters from residents about the proposal. Chief Leavitt told council that schools in Alliance "do not have areas available to create designated loading and unloading zones like many larger cities have," a point raised as part of the discussion of how the rule would be applied near schools.

Councilman Turman asked whether a traffic study would be beneficial; Chief Leavitt responded that such studies are expensive and said the ordinance is intended as a preventative safety measure to address hazardous stopping before injury occurs. The council left the third reading on the calendar to allow further public input before final adoption.