Residents living on cul-de-sacs will have to adjust the way they park.
The City Council voted this month to amend the city’s parking ordinances.
According to City Clerk Susan Bernard, the previous regulations did not contain language that specifically addressed parking on cul-de-sacs. Under those rules, residents are allowed to park their cars on roadways where swales exist, if they leave at least 12 feet of open road space for traffic.
The amendments, unanimously approved, include a provision that allows residents and their guests to parallel-park on cul-de-sacs that do not have swale areas, if the wheels are within a foot of the curb.
The amended ordinance prohibits double-parking, head-in and angled parking of cars. Any resident who violates the revised law can be fined.
Bernard said the city was prompted to take another look at its ordinances after a city police officer tried to maneuver his cruiser down a cul-de-sac and was unable to because of the number of parked cars blocking the roadway. Bernard said the situation created a hazard especially for emergency medical or rescue vehicles that were trying to get onto the street.
Mayor Suellen H. Fardelmann said the new regulations are not meant to make it more difficult for residents and their guests to park. She was aware, she said, there would be times when residents wanting to have a birthday party or other kind of celebration would need the extra parking space.
The measure, she said, is to make sure that roadways are kept clear so that emergency vehicles can get through.
She said the city also wanted to keep residents who continuously block roadways from taking up their parking “and everybody else’s parking.”
Fardelmann said she wants to make sure people understand that “this does not mean that the police are going to go around and ticket everyone who’s [giving a party].”
