Marengo council again says no to parking ban

MARENGO — The Marengo City Council again declined to limit parking on Lafayette Avenue from Main Street to May Street despite recommendations from the city administrator, the council’s safety committee and Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray.

Compass Memorial Healthcare asked for a parking ban on Lafayette in April when its construction project increased traffic on the street.

Jim Peterson and Nichole Folkmann, who live on the block in question, have objected to the parking prohibition in front of their homes citing inconvenience — especially during holidays or celebrations when family and friends visit — and casting doubt on how much of a safety hazard exists on the street.

Both residences have driveways for off-street parking.

In May, the Marengo City Council voted 3-2 not to ban parking on Lafayette south of the hospital, John Hinshaw and Jenni Olson voting for the parking ban; Travis Schlabach, Bill Kreis and Karen Wayson-Kisling voted against it.

Two weeks later, City Administrator Karla Marck asked the council to approve a revised plan, prohibiting parking on the west side of the street and on both sides north of the alley. The street narrows north of the alley, constricting traffic flow.

Hinshaw and Wayson-Kisling voted to create an ordinance restricting parking on Lafayette to the east side only. Kreis abstained. Schlabach and Olson were absent.

Marck presented that ordinance to the council June 12, and again the council declined to prohibit parking on that block of Lafayette.

The parking restriction would solve the congestion problem and make the road safer, said Marck.

When questioned about accidents on the street, Gray said he’d seen “a lot of near misses,” but no accidents.

Hinshaw said he’s seen traffic jams there as people wait to get around parked cars.

The proposed ordinance would give residents some on-street parking while restricting it in other places, said Olson. It’s a good compromise.

But Schlabach noted that residents were getting only 25% of the space to park, and 75% would be no-parking. “Jim shouldn’t have to walk half a block to his house,” said Schlabach.

If traffic is congested at the stop sign, prohibit parking within 40 feet of the stop sign, Schlabach said.

“You’ve got to wait for traffic all the time,” said Schlabach. And traffic on Lafayette is not high-speed traffic. Drivers should wait their turn.

“We already beat this horse once, and now I feel like we’re beating it again,” said Schlabach.

The city is trying to make the street safe for two cars to pass on the street, said Marck. This is a good compromise.

The city should look at all the streets around the hospital if congestion is an issue, said Schlabach. Perhaps the council should prohibit parking on Lucas Street.

The city prohibits parking on one side of Lucas, said Marck.

And Lucas is a “much wider street,” said Gray.

Hinshaw and Olson voted to set a public hearing for the ordinance to prohibit parking on the west side of Lafayette Aveneue from main Street to May Street and on the east side from May Street south for 160-feet.

Kreis and Schlabach voted no, and the motion failed 2-2.

The tie-breaking vote would have come from Wayson-Kisling, who was absent. Wayson-Kisling voted against a previous ordinance to prohibit parking on Lafayette.