New street parking changes move forward

WASHINGTON — A handful of amendments to Washington’s street parking ordinances seem likely to pass in the near future, after getting nods of approval at last week’s city council meeting.

If enacted, one proposed amendment would limit parking to only the south side of the road along Main Street, from North Fourth Avenue to North Sixth Avenue. It would also ban parking on either side of Main Street within a few car-lengths on either side of the Main-Fourth intersection.

The suggested revisions scrap an earlier draft of the proposal, which would have limited parking to one side of the street further west. The changes came after one resident of Main’s 300-block complained the area simply didn’t have space to park all the cars on one side, given the abundance of multifamily rental properties and lack of driveways.

“I already have problems getting my garbage out to the curb … and often have people crowding the driveway,” said Don Hughes at a council meeting earlier this month. “If you shove all of that parking onto that side of the street, we’re going to be the people that are paying for it.”

City Administrator Joe Gaa said he and Police Chief Jim Lester endorsed the change after walking the stretch of Main Street, where they said the road was wider than other portions to the east.

“It’s not a typical city street until you get to fourth,” he said. “You’ll see in the text here, an amendment to leave it on both sides, but to actually back it up a little bit from the intersection, because that’s where the traffic gets tight.”

Sharing the page with Main Street’s proposed parking amendments are a handful of other changes, which would block street parking on North Marion Avenue between Eighth and 15th Street, as well as South Avenue E between Tyler and Buchanan Street. The amendment would also implement one-sided parking on sections of East Second Street, and ban parking along a stretch of South Avenue B from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on school days.

The proposed amendment is expected to get a first reading at next week’s regular council meeting.

A second set of less contentious parking code revisions is also on the agenda for next week, queued up for a third reading. Those changes would enact one-sided parking on South Avenue B between Madison and Tyler, ban all parking on East Van Buren Street between South Iowa and South Second, and limit it close to certain intersections on Fourth, Second and Marion Avenue.

That set of proposals has already completed two public readings, and will become law if it gets a majority vote at the upcoming council meeting.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com