Title
Resolution to Approve a Residential Parking District in the Old Fourth Ward and Appropriate General Fund Unobligated Fund Balance ($20,985.00) (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
Attached for your review and approval is a resolution to establish a Residential Parking Permit (RPP) district in the Old Fourth Ward (OFW). Also attached is a Traffic Control Order (TCO) indicating streets to be signed for residential parking.
The streets to be included are as follows, excluding frontage for non-residential properties:
1. E Ann St, N Division St to Glen Ave
2. Catherine St, N Fifth Av to N Ingalls St
3. N Division St, E Huron St to High St
4. Elizabeth St, E Kingsley St to High St (west side only)
5. High St, N Division St to N State St
6. E Huron St, N Division St to N Ingalls St (north side only)
7. N Ingalls St, E Huron St to E Kingsley St
8. E Kingsley St, N Division St to N Ingalls St
9. Lawrence St, N Division St to N Ingalls St
10. N State St, E Huron St to High St (excludes west side Kingsley to High, St Thomas Church)
11. N Thayer St, E Huron St to E Kingsley St
Streets currently signed for "no parking" or other restrictions will remain the same. The inclusion of a street signed for "no parking" in the District allows residents fronting that street to be eligible to participate, purchase a permit and park on another RPP Designated street within the OFW RPP District.
The OFW Association has been in discussions with Councilmembers Smith and Briere because of the impending increase in parking demand associated with the opening of the new University of Michigan dormitory at State and Huron. While parking in the area has already been a problem, the OFW Association has been unsuccessful in multiple attempts to achieve the required signatures for a petition to establish a RPP District due to the low number of long term residents in the area. As a result, we are recommending the district be established by waiving the requirement that the association submit a petition request with 60% signed support. Implementation of the district, including installation of signage, mailings to eligible properties and sale of permits will take 6 to 8 weeks to complete after authorization by council. Permits for the district will be sold annually with the permits effective August 15, 2010 and expiring August 14, 2011.
The proposed OFW RPP District would have a two hour parking limit from 8:00am till 6:00pm, Monday through Friday, permit exempt, open weekends and holidays. The proposed OFW RPP District establishes that only one side of the street be limited to the parking restriction, but that the restricted side of the street alternates. This is similar to the Old West Side and Spring-Brooks-Summit RPP Districts.
A site visit was performed to estimate the number of parking block-faces available for parking in the district. Some blocks are extremely long and count as more than one, while some are extremely short and count as one-half block-face; not included in the count are the block-faces posted "no parking". The Old Fourth Ward Association was found to have 50.5 block-faces in a contiguous area.
The number of parking block-faces is used to determine the cost to establish. We estimate each block-face cost to cost $415.55 for Field Operations/Sign Shop: material, fabrication, installation, minimal trimming, overhead and equipment.
The Public Services Area budget does not contain adequate funding for all set up costs associated with this General Fund program. The request for funding is limited to our Field Operations/Sign staff costs represented above, totaling $20,985.00 ($415.55 x 50.5). The additional set-up costs such as Field Operations/Forestry's inspection, trimming, overhead, and equipment, as well as the Administrative costs such as site visit, GIS site review, drafting resolution and traffic control order, address verification and compilation, and letter to RPP households and owners to update them on the addition of this new parking district, and Customer Services costs for the parking district permits and database update with new eligible district addresses will be absorbed into the operating budgets in the respective units.
Body
We request approval to create this new Old Fourth Ward Parking Permit District as shown on the attached Map, and signed as shown on the attached Traffic Control Order, with an appropriation of $20,985.00 from the General Fund Unobligated Fund Balance.
Whereas, The Old Fourth Ward Association has worked with their Councilmembers to establish a new Residential Parking Permit District;
Whereas, Council acknowledges the increased parking demand in the area and the low level of long term resident population that has made it difficult to meet petition signature requirements to establish an Association initiated Residential Permit Parking district;
Whereas, It is requested to waive the requirement for petition submittal with 60% signature support; and
Whereas, Funds are not adequate in the approved Public Services Area General Fund budget for FY2011 to implement this new residential parking district;
RESOLVED, That City Council waive the petition submittal with 60% signature support requirement;
RESOLVED, That City Council:
1. Approve the establishment of the Old Fourth Ward Residential Parking Permit District as shown on the attached map;
2. Approve the streets to be signed to implement this residential parking district as shown on the attached Traffic Control Order; and
3. Appropriate $20,985.00 from the General Fund Unobligated Fund Balance for the purpose of sign installation; and
RESOLVED, That Council authorize the Administrator to take appropriate action to implement this Residential Parking District.
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Smith and Briere