CR 97-31 17th Ave N On-Street Parking
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February 26,1997
Council Report 97-31
17th Avenue North On-Street Parking
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PrODOsed Action,
Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move that Council
order no change to current parking restrictions on 17th Avenue North,
Overview,
City Council received a petition last June in which 23 residents (living on the
east side of 17th Avenue) requested that parking be allowed on the east side
of 17th Avenue, City Council directed staff to request MnDot approval to
allow parking on both sides, Staff received this approval in December, 1996,
City Council then directed staff to seek additional resident input, from both
sides of 17th Avenue, on parking options, Staff sent a letter to residents
explaining parking options and inviting residents to a February 13, 1997
public information meeting, Staff received input from 22 residents, Staffhas
consistently recommended that parking remain as-is and that is still the staff
recommendation,
PrimaI)' Issues to Consider,
. Transportation Engineering Guidelines
. Maintenance Concerns
. Vehic1e Speed
. Resident Input
. Enforcement of Additional Parking Restrictions
. Parking Options
. Recommended Options to Consider
Supporting Information,
. ~olice Dept Me, 0
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Steven J, Stadler, Public Works Director
Council Report 97-31
Page 2
Analvsis of Issues,
. Transportation Engineering Guidelines
What is the safe street width in order to accommodate on-street parking and
through traffic?
The MnDot requirement for this class of street with parking on both sides is
38 feet. Another source of information is a manual called: A Policy on
Geometric Design ofHililiwavs and Streets, by the American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASIITO), This manual is the
authoritative guide on transportation engineering issues, It states that the
desirable parking lane width is 204m (8 ft), However. it also states that on
urban collector streets in residential neighborhoods a 2,1m (7 ft) parking lane
has been successfully used.
If parking were allowed on both sides of 17th Avenue. the street would
consist of two 3.3m (11ft) travel lanes and parking lanes of2,1m (7 ft) on
each side, Therefore, the 17th Avenue street width of 36 feet meets the
minimum AASIITO requirements for an urban collector with two travel lanes
and two parking lanes,
Even though 17th Avenue falls within the AASIITO guidelines, there would
still be an impact to safety and traffic if parking was allowed on both sides,
Whenever there was an area of the street where vehicles were parked on both
sides, there would be increased accident potential and impeded traffic flow,
Accident potential would increase due to: less clearance between oncoming
motor vehicles, less room for bicyclists. restricted vision for residents using
driveways and less clearance from the travel lane for people getting into or
out of parked cars, In general, given a 36' wide street. these increased risks
could be considered acceptable if there is benefit gained by the abutting
properties,
Council Report 97-31
Page 3
. Maintenance Concerns
Staffhas previously mentioned that it would not be possible to keep snow
cleared to the curb on 17th Avenue in a timely manner and also maintain
cwrent snow removal service in the Central Business area, This means we
would not be able to maintain the minimum 36' street width during the winter
months, This is the primary maintenance concern,
. Vehicle Speed
Several residents mentioned that allowing parking on both sides would be a
safety problem partly due to drivers going too fast, A recent Police Dept
speed survey shows that 89 out of 920 vehicles exceeded the 30 mph speed
limit by at least 6 mph, The average speed considering all vehicles was 30,6
mph, The Police Dept concludes that excessive speed is not a significant
problem on 17th Avenue North. A copy of the Police Dept memo is attached.
. Resident Input
. A June 18, 1996 petition presented to City Council, The subject of
the petition was that "The taxpayers on the east side of 17th Avenue
North in fairness and equality request that parking be permitted on
the east side of 17th Avenue North from Main Street to Trail area
(formerly Railroad right of way)," The petition was signed by 23
out of33 residents living on the east side of 17th Avenue North,
. Combined results of resident input from: 1) Feb 13th Public Info
Mtg, 2) letter and phone call, and 3) Feb 14th and 18th telephone
poll, Staff received input from a total of 22 residents (12-west
side & lO-east side residents).
NUMBER OPPOSED TO PARKING ON BOTH SIDES: 11
NUMBER PREFERRING THAT PARKING REMAIN AS-IS: 14
(6 of 14 were residents who had previously signed the petition)
NUMBER OF WEST SIDE RESIDENTS OPPOSED TO
SWITCHING PARKING TO THE EAST SIDE ONLY: 10 out of 12
Council Report 97-31
Page 4
. Enforcement of Additional Parking Restrictions
The Police Dept believes that they could adequately enforce additional
parking restrictions on 17th Avenue North, i,e" no parking during peak traffic
periods,
. Parking Options
Some parking options to consider include:
1, No change to current parking
2, Switch parking to the east side only
3. Alternate parking from west to east side at yearly, two-year, etc, intervals
4, Leave the existing "No Parking" signs on the east side during the winter
months, Replace these signs with "No Parking 7-9 a,m, and 4-6 p,m"
Mon-Fri" signs during the non-winter months, The sign change-out dates
could be variable depending on the weather each year,
5, Same as 4, above but place the seasonal and peak hour restrictions on the
west side of 17th Avenue North, This would mean parking would be
allowed year-round on the east side,
6, Eliminate all parking on 17th Avenue North,
. Recommended Parking Options to Consider
Staff recommends option 1, The reason is simply because we don't believe
that providing additional on-street parking provides sufficient benefit to the
abutting property owners to warrant accepting the increased risks,
However, if City Council decides to allow parking on both sides of 17th
Avenue (option 4, or 5,), staff asks that the additional parking be limited to
only the two blocks between 1st Street North and 3rd Street North, The
reason is because all but one home on the east side of 17th Avenue between
Main Street and 1st Street North and between 3rd Street North and the trail
crossing has a driveway onto 17th Avenue North, The benefit of on-street
parking to these properties is negligible, Additionally, if there were cars
parked in between these driveways it would be very difficult for these
residents to safely get out onto 17th Avenue,