Traffic Panel Discusses Downtown Parking
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission Wednesday afternoon discussed priorities for downtown parking.
The city will present a parking plan to the on- and off-street parking subcommittees and the finance and policy subcommittees for approval.
The plan also will need to be approved by Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission and Warsaw City Council. There also will be public meetings on downtown parking.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer and Warsaw Traffic Administrator Kip Shuter met Dec. 10 to discuss downtown parking.
The traffic commission Wednesday reviewed a downtown parking draft for priorities put together by Skinner, Thallemer and Shuter.
“Essentially, what we are doing is trying to keep the two-hour parking in place in the very central core of the downtown,” Thallemer said.
“We want to have the perimeter open up for unlimited parking to try to get merchants and employees to park out on the perimeter and not have to worry about having to move their cars around,” Thallemer said.
There has been an issue with employees and merchants parking in front of their businesses in the two-hour parking spots that does not leave room for customers to park there.
Thallemer said the city wants to encourage commerce and business in the downtown, and an important part of that is parking.
The following priorities were developed, including setting two-hour parking for one block in each direction from the center of Warsaw at Buffalo and Detroit streets. Boundaries would be Indiana Street to the east, Lake Street to the west, Main Street to the north and Market Street to the south. A possibility could be unlimited parking time outside of this boundary.
The priorities also would be to evaluate two-hour parking and unlimited parking possibilities for all city parking lots, and develop a plan for parking downtown residents such as the use of parking tags.
Lacy Francis, street superintendent, said he did not have a problem with parking tags to be used to park vehicles downtown but he had a concern with parked cars with the parking tags being in the way of snow removal.
Thallemer said all of the details need to be worked through.
Cindy Dobbins, traffic commission member, said there was a problem with a resident parked in front of her downtown shop for a full week.
Other priorities include developing an exchange plan for unused private parking spaces downtown, looking at angled parking along Lake Street and other locations within the two-hour boundary, adding downtown parking spaces by restriping city hall and eliminating city leased parking lots.
Thallemer said the parking committees looked at input on downtown parking it received from surveys to establish downtown parking priorities.
Mike Klondaris, traffic member, suggested possibly there could be some paid metered parking spaces implemented on a trial basis to see how that goes for those who are willing to pay to park for longer than two-hour periods.
Skinner said he did not support requiring visitors to pay for downtown parking spaces after time has run out in a two-hour parking space.
He said the city conducted a downtown parking survey completed by approximately 500 residents that indicated visitors did not want to have to pay to park downtown.
“When we want our downtown to be successful we have to look at all of our parking options before we jump without a parachute,” Skinner said. “I think at this point we would be setting ourselves up to fail by adding meters.”
Greg Schroeder, traffic commission member, said he did not support having residents pay for parking spaces with parking meters.
“With the paid parking, ultimately what that ends up doing is punishing the very people we are trying to bring downtown because of actions of others,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said the biggest problem that revolves around the downtown parking is that merchants and employees are parking in spots for customers. If there is a place for downtown merchants and employees to park that will open up space for customers to park.
Dobbins said she agreed parking meters would punish customers who shop downtown by having them pay for parking because there are residents, merchants and downtown employees who are parking in spaces for customers.
Also during the meeting, Thallemer read an oath of office for traffic members Klondaris, Kip Shuter, Steve Foster, Dobbins, Joel Beam, Schroeder and Francis. Foster was re-elected to serve as commission secretary.
The commission will meet again Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. at the Warsaw Police Department training center.
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Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission Wednesday afternoon discussed priorities for downtown parking.
The city will present a parking plan to the on- and off-street parking subcommittees and the finance and policy subcommittees for approval.
The plan also will need to be approved by Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission and Warsaw City Council. There also will be public meetings on downtown parking.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer and Warsaw Traffic Administrator Kip Shuter met Dec. 10 to discuss downtown parking.
The traffic commission Wednesday reviewed a downtown parking draft for priorities put together by Skinner, Thallemer and Shuter.
“Essentially, what we are doing is trying to keep the two-hour parking in place in the very central core of the downtown,” Thallemer said.
“We want to have the perimeter open up for unlimited parking to try to get merchants and employees to park out on the perimeter and not have to worry about having to move their cars around,” Thallemer said.
There has been an issue with employees and merchants parking in front of their businesses in the two-hour parking spots that does not leave room for customers to park there.
Thallemer said the city wants to encourage commerce and business in the downtown, and an important part of that is parking.
The following priorities were developed, including setting two-hour parking for one block in each direction from the center of Warsaw at Buffalo and Detroit streets. Boundaries would be Indiana Street to the east, Lake Street to the west, Main Street to the north and Market Street to the south. A possibility could be unlimited parking time outside of this boundary.
The priorities also would be to evaluate two-hour parking and unlimited parking possibilities for all city parking lots, and develop a plan for parking downtown residents such as the use of parking tags.
Lacy Francis, street superintendent, said he did not have a problem with parking tags to be used to park vehicles downtown but he had a concern with parked cars with the parking tags being in the way of snow removal.
Thallemer said all of the details need to be worked through.
Cindy Dobbins, traffic commission member, said there was a problem with a resident parked in front of her downtown shop for a full week.
Other priorities include developing an exchange plan for unused private parking spaces downtown, looking at angled parking along Lake Street and other locations within the two-hour boundary, adding downtown parking spaces by restriping city hall and eliminating city leased parking lots.
Thallemer said the parking committees looked at input on downtown parking it received from surveys to establish downtown parking priorities.
Mike Klondaris, traffic member, suggested possibly there could be some paid metered parking spaces implemented on a trial basis to see how that goes for those who are willing to pay to park for longer than two-hour periods.
Skinner said he did not support requiring visitors to pay for downtown parking spaces after time has run out in a two-hour parking space.
He said the city conducted a downtown parking survey completed by approximately 500 residents that indicated visitors did not want to have to pay to park downtown.
“When we want our downtown to be successful we have to look at all of our parking options before we jump without a parachute,” Skinner said. “I think at this point we would be setting ourselves up to fail by adding meters.”
Greg Schroeder, traffic commission member, said he did not support having residents pay for parking spaces with parking meters.
“With the paid parking, ultimately what that ends up doing is punishing the very people we are trying to bring downtown because of actions of others,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said the biggest problem that revolves around the downtown parking is that merchants and employees are parking in spots for customers. If there is a place for downtown merchants and employees to park that will open up space for customers to park.
Dobbins said she agreed parking meters would punish customers who shop downtown by having them pay for parking because there are residents, merchants and downtown employees who are parking in spaces for customers.
Also during the meeting, Thallemer read an oath of office for traffic members Klondaris, Kip Shuter, Steve Foster, Dobbins, Joel Beam, Schroeder and Francis. Foster was re-elected to serve as commission secretary.
The commission will meet again Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. at the Warsaw Police Department training center.
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