Parking Commission

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LAFAYETTE PARKING COMMISSION April 16, 2012 11:00 am ATTENDANCE - COMMISSIONERS: John Metzinger; Donald J. Teder; Angela Vinson; Cindy Murray; and Ed Chosnek, City Attorney STAFF: Max Smith, City Traffic Department; Dan Walker; Margy Deverall; and Nancy Hendricks GUESTS: Teresa Donoho, 1503 N. 10th Street; Shirley J. Stultz, 1507 N. 10th Street; Michael Weaver, 1507 Nth 10th Street; Henry Weaver, 1507 Nth 10th Street; Terry Knight, 1312 Ferry Street; Andrea Mullen 208 S 4th Street; Michael Mullen, 208 S 4th Street; Carl D. Vyse, 1214-1216 Brown Street; Gwendolyn Slamovich, 321 Forest Hill Dr, West Lafayette ; and Misty Blair, Denison Parking President Angela Vinson opened the meeting of the Lafayette Parking Commission. Approve minutes of the January 23, 2012 meeting Donald J. Teder moved to approve the minutes for the January 23, 2012 meeting. John Metzinger seconded. The motion passed. Request for change in parking at 661 N. 7th Street for two handicapped parking spaces No one was present to make the request. John Metzinger moved to table the request until the next meeting. Donald J. Teder seconded. The motion passed Request for change in parking at 1214-1216 Brown Street for one handicapped parking space President Angela Vinson asked if anyone was present to make this request. No one responded. Donald J. Teder moved to table the request. John Metzinger seconded. The motion passed. When it was made known that the petitioner had not heard the invitation to present his request, Donald J. Teder moved to bring the request back to the table. Cindy Murray seconded. The motion passed. Carl Vyse requested that the parking space in front of 1216 Brown Street be restricted to handicap qualified drivers. Jason Terrell, the property manager, had made the request to the Parking Commission by letter on behalf of Mr. Vyse who is a tenant at 1216 Brown Street property. After confirming with Dan Walker that review of the continuing need for the handicap space would occur each year, Donald J. Teder moved to make the parking space in front of 1216 Brown a handicap space. John Metzinger seconded. The motion passed. Request for change in parking at 1510 N. 10th Street for a no parking zone on the western border of Fulton Place Apartments Henry Weaver of 1507 N. 10th Street explained that parking at the location near and around his house is very limited and that removing the parking would impose greatly on residents and their families and friends who visit and help with transportation. Michael Weaver, also of 1507 N. 10th Street, presented a petition against the proposed no parking zone signed by ten residents in the area. No one was present to argue on behalf of the request for parking change. John Metzinger moved to deny the request for a no parking zone one the western border of Fulton Place Apartments. Cindy Murray seconded. The motion passed. Request for change in parking at 208 S. 4th Street for two 20-minute parking spaces Andrea Mullen, of Mutt Cuts business at 208 S. 4th Street requested two 20-minute parking spaces for her clients to drop off and pick up their pets. Due to the conflict with other activities in the area, a restricted parking area would allow her clients to negotiate the needs required for their pets. After discussion of other possibilities, the Parking Commission agreed to limit parking but to only one space. John Metzinger moved to change the parking in front of Mutt Cuts to one 20-minute parking space. Cindy Murray seconded. The motion passed. Request for change in parking at Sheridan and Ferry Street for a no parking zone on Sheridan Street Terry Knight, a Ferry Street resident, reported the parking problem caused by numerous cars parking on a very narrow street. She also reported numerous calls to police to remove cars parked in the grass near the Ferry and Sheridan intersection. Max Smith of Lafayette Police confirmed that the narrow street imposed traffic restrictions of vision and unsafe negotiations around parked cars. Cindy Murray moved to remove parking on the east side of Sheridan Street. John Metzinger seconded. The motion passed. Recommendation Request for Changes to the Municipal Code Regarding Bicycle Parking Margy Deverall presented the necessity for making changes to the municipal code regarding bicycle parking. Currently there is no definition of an abandoned bicycle and there are no provisions on what to do if a bicycle has been abandoned. Margy proposed changes that would make it illegal to abandon a bicycle on public property or on a public right-of-way. The definition of an abandoned bicycle would be one that is in a state of disrepair and incapable of being operated or one that has not been moved in more than seven days or has the physical condition of having been abandoned. Abandoned bikes would be tagged and impounded seven days after being tagged. Another consideration regarding bicycles was the manner of parking them. Several bike racks have been added to the downtown, bicycles can be parked on curbs or against buildings as long as pedestrian or vehicular traffic is not impeded. Locking bicycles to signs (excluding signs designating a handicap space because of the possible imposition on the person needing that space) may also be considered in the municipal code change. Misty Blair of Denison Parking expressed concern that tagging bicycles may not be possible for her on-street ticketing officers to document due to the absence of license plates on bikes. Ed Chosnek clarified that the use of Denison Parking for tagging would not be entered into the municipal code. Enforcement procedure on abandoned bikes is still under discussion. John Metzinger moved to recommend to City Council to amend the municipal code. Donald J. Teder seconded. The motion passed. Annual Review of 20-minute, 30-minute, loading, and handicapped spaces (outside downtown) Dan Walker, project manager for the Economic Development Department, presented a written report of the responses he received from residents and businesses with parking spaces which have been changed in the past. The report included those who wished to keep the changes and those who wished the changes to be removed. Cindy Murray moved to approve the recommendations of the report. John Metzinger seconded. The motion passed. Public Comment Gwendolyn Slamovich asked if the Parking Commission would consider the request for a change in the parking at 661 N. 7th Street, since she had come to the meeting after the agenda item had been tabled. John Metzinger moved to bring the request back to the table. Cindy Murray seconded. The motion passed. Request for change in parking at 661 N 7th Street for two handicapped parking spaces Gwendolyn Slamovich presented the situation for the congregation which regularly meets at 661 N. 7 th Street. The congregation is mostly elderly and in declining health. During the discussion, Gwendolyn confirmed that the use of the handicapped spaces would mostly be used for dropping off and picking up and that there was an additional entrance at the back of the building for congregants who could not negotiate the stairway at the front of the building. Winter conditions were also a factor for concern. Cindy Murray moved to repaint the curb as a yellow loading zone in the parking space directly in front of the stairway and to make the next parking space (north) into handicap parking. John Metzinger seconded. The motion passed. Adjournment Cindy Murray moved to adjourn. John Metzinger seconded. The meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Hendricks Recording Secretary Signed, Lafayette Parking Commissioner