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No parking in effect now on north end of South Indiana
Wasting no time between approval and actual implementation, no-parking signs went up along the north end of South Indiana Street in Greencastle Tuesday morning.
The 75-foot-long section in question along both sides of newly reconstructed South Indiana runs from Washington Street to the alley.
With the sidewalks bumped out alongside Starbucks and the former Downtown Cafe areas during the streetscape work, there is no longer room for two lanes of traffic and parking along both sides of the street.
But because no signs had been posted outlawing parking in that area and the curbs hadn't been (and won't be) painted yellow, vehicles were continually parking there, restricting traffic flow and creating unnecessary congestion.
First reading of an ordinance (2014-15) adding the South Indiana Street section to the no-parking ordinance was passed at the City Council's Oct. 14 meeting, while adoption on second reading came at a special meeting Monday evening.
Councilman Mark Hammer made the motion for approval with a second from Phyllis Rokicki and a third aye vote by Jinsie Bingham. Council Council President Adam Cohen was absent and the Fourth Ward seat was still vacant at the time.
Making sure the no-parking edict would go into effect immediately, City Public Work Superintendent Brad Phillips had already installed two signposts and added the signs themselves Tuesday morning.
The no-parking sign along the west side of Indiana is posted at the Washington Street corner, reminding drivers there is no parking for the next 75 feet, while on the east side of Indiana, a sign just north of the alley states, "no parking here to corner."
Until Tuesday morning, the only recourse city officials had when finding vehicles parked in the area was for parking enforcement officer Darcy Hendershot to go store to store, trying to find the vehicle owners, pleading with them to move their car or truck if she was able to track them down. While she could urge them to move, their vehicles could not be towed or ticketed until adoption of Ordinance 2014-15, which is now on the books. Fines cannot go into effect, however, until the ordinance has been published as a legal notice.
Meanwhile, also included in the no-parking section on second reading was a portion of Madison Street from Washington to Franklin streets.
That inclusion came at the request of the Moose Lodge, Mayor Sue Murray noted, as club officials want to encourage members to park in their parking lot at Madison and Franklin streets instead of in front of the building.
Following that discussion, Councilman Hammer urged examination of the parking along North College Avenue.
While parking is currently legal on both sides of the street, Hammer said a number of big, wide trucks and dually pickups are regularly parked along both sides of North College, making it impossible for two lanes of traffic to navigate the area.
He urged city officials to consider making parking legal on only one side of the street.
"It's a thought," Hammer said, noting that he has seen bottlenecks develop there as school buses try to get through the area and have to wait to go around the parked vehicles.
"I realize it's a residential street," Hammer said, "but it's a collector street as well."
Meanwhile, adoption Monday on second reading of Ordinance 2014-17 makes parking in the lots on North Jackson Street parking lot (north of the Banner Graphic), Columbia Street, the new Market Street site (formerly Moose parking) and newly named Southcourt lot (Indiana-Walnut-Jackson site) free and open to all. The Jackson and Columbia street lots had previously been leased parking.
Ordinance 2014-17 does not, however, affect the status of the Vine Street parking lot.
Eventually, the Council is also expected to address the two-hour limit area and how it will be enforced once the two new parking lots (being developed in lieu of the ill-fated parking garage) are open.
That should occur by mid-November or Thanksgiving at the latest, Mayor Murray has said.