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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-02 Correspondence Item Number: 10.g. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT April 2, 2024 Establishment of "No Parking Any Time" parking prohibition on the east side of Keswick Drive. Prepared By: Emily Bothell; Senior Associate Transportation Planner Reviewed By: Kent Ralston; Transportation Planner Jason Havel; City Engineer Tracy Hightshoe; Neighborhood and Development Services Director Fiscal Impact: No Impact Staff Recommendation: Approval Commission Recommendations: N/A Attachments: Staff Memorandum Executive Summary: As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1 , Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A (10, 12); Establish a "No Parking Any Time" parking prohibition on the east side of Keswick Drive between Benton Street and Wheaton Road. Background /Analysis: This action is being taken to improve access for large City service vehicles. Additionally, City policy is to restrict parking on one side of the street when it is less than 28 feet wide and complaints of vehicles parking directly opposite each other are observed. This portion of Keswick Drive is 25 feet wide and the prohibition is consistent with the existing prohibition on Keswick Drive to the north of Wheaton Road. On-street parking will continue to be available on the west side of Keswick Drive. Affected households adjacent to this portion of Keswick Drive have been notified of the proposed action. r � I, CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: March 25, 2024 To: Geoff Fruin; City Manager From: Kent Ralston; Transportation Planner Re: Parking Prohibition on the east side of Keswick Drive Executive Summary: At the March 19'" City Council meeting a proposal to prohibit parking on the east side of Keswick Drive between Benton Street and Wheaton Road was deferred. This memo outlines the current parking policy staff uses for streets less than 28 feet wide and additional information about the specific proposal on Keswick Drive. Background / Analysis: The City's subdivision code regulates on-street parking on newly constructed streets based on their width. In general, local and collector streets wider than 28 feet (including curbs) allow for parking on both sides of the street, and streets narrower than 28 feet only allow parking on one side of the street. This ensures vehicles can safely/adequately navigate a street. While the city code provides clear regulations for new subdivisions, the code does not specify on- street parking regulations for existing streets. In general, the code states that parking can be prohibited along one side of the street when it does not exceed 30 feet in width and can be prohibited on both sides of the street when its less than 20 feet in width. Due to the flexibility in the Code, staff adheres to the following on-street parking policy for existing streets: • On local and collector streets, on-street parking prohibitions are generally limited to one side of the street. Parking is rarely prohibited on both sides of the street unless it cannot be avoided. • When a request to prohibit on-street parking is requested by a City Department (Police, Fire or Streets), staff conducts a review of existing conditions and makes a recommendation to the City Council noting the reason for the request. • When a request to prohibit on-street parking is generated by a resident, staff conducts a review of existing conditions. If the street is less than 28 foot wide and staff documents vehicles parking directly opposite each other, effectively narrowing the street where large vehicles would not be able to safely navigate the corridor, the neighborhood is notified that a recommendation to prohibit parking on one side of the street will be sent to City Council for consideration. If staff cannot document vehicles parking directly opposite each other, no action is taken. • When a request to prohibit on-street parking is generated by a resident and staff deems no action is required after an initial review, residents are provided the opportunity to petition to have parking prohibited on one or both sides of the street. In this case, staff requires that 50% of the residents in the affected area sign a petition, and a subsequent mail-back survey is returned by 50% of those surveyed and supported by 60% of respondents. If these thresholds are met, staff forwards the requested prohibition to City Council for consideration. • Prior to recommending a change to City Council staff always considers street topography, number of access points, surrounding land uses, existing parking prohibitions, existing parking need, potential hardships caused by a change in on-street prohibitions, and traffic safety. There are currently more than 100 streets in the City less than 28 feet wide that allow parking on both sides of the street. Every year, staff investigates dozens of requests for parking prohibitions on these streets, but few are ever substantiated by staff. The image below provides an example of how a 25-foot-wide street(like Keswick Drive)functions when vehicles are parked directly opposite each other, and a large vehicle is present. This example is a best-case scenario where two small-to-mid-size vehicles are parked at the curb — leaving a very narrow passing lane. If both of the vehicles in the image below were parked 18 inches from the curb (as permitted by City Code), it's unlikely that an emergency vehicle, garbage truck, or snow plow could safely navigate the street. However, in a worst-case scenario, if two full-size trucks or SUV's are parked directly opposite each other with a width of 7 feet 5 inches, legally parked 18 inches from the curb, this results in a remaining passing lane of only 6 feet where it would be physically impossible for a large vehicle to pass (examples attached). c � 4311- r *Image from The Village of Mundelein Illinois *The 24'cross-section measurement excludes curbs Financial Impact: The approximate cost to post the parking prohibition on Keswick Drive as proposed is $500 for materials/labor. Recommendation: Given that staff typically only receives a few complaints each year that result in additional parking prohibitions, due to narrow streets that cause safety issues or otherwise preventing the delivery of City services, staff recommends the City maintain the existing policy to address such situations. Staff also recommends considering the proposed prohibition on the east side of Keswick Drive between Benton Street and Wheaton Road as vehicles have been observed parking directly opposite each other — making it difficult for large vehicles to safely navigate the street. If approved, on-street parking will remain available on the west side of the street. 25' Street Best-Case Scenario — Small Vehicles Parked at Curb WIDTHOF A FIRE TRUCK 1510' 7 M 6.0' 1'S,I 6.0' 120' PAVEMENT WIDTH =25.0' 25' Street Worst-Case Scenario — Large Vehicles Legally Parked 18" from Curb WIDTH OFA FIRE TRUCK IS 10' iik ii 7.5' 6.0' 7.5"k .5' 1.5'J.5 PAVEMENT WIDTH =25.0' 28' Street Best-Case Scenario — Small Vehicles Parked at Curb UCK IS 10104f .J 06.0' 15A' 60" ----- .SI PAVEMENTWOTH =280' 28' Street Worst-Case Scenario — Large Vehicles Legally Parked 18" from Curb WIDTH OFA RM TRUCK IS 1M • 1.5' I 7.5' I 9.0' I 7.5' PAVEMENTMIDTH =28.0'