Gilroy
– The string of used cars lining First Street on weekends will
have to move or face fines and towing in coming weeks, following
passage of a city resolution banning parking along the majority of
both sides of the thoroughfare.
Gilroy – The string of used cars lining First Street on weekends will have to move or face fines and towing in coming weeks, following passage of a city resolution banning parking along the majority of both sides of the thoroughfare.
The new regulation institutes no-parking “red zones” along the north side of First Street, between Miller Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard, with the exception of 15-minute parking in front of Taco Bell, Washington Mutual Bank and the dry cleaner at Contempo Shopping Center, just west of Westwood Drive.
The entire south side of First Street, from Santa Teresa Boulevard through the empty lot east of Blockbuster, will be rendered a “red zone.”
The resolution, approved Monday night by the City Council, came in response to a number of complaints from shoppers trying to exit Safeway. On weekends, more than a dozen cars with for-sale signs are parked there for display to passing motorists.
“If you’ve ever driven First Street,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said, “you’ll see that you have to move away from those cars because people are standing out in the road looking at them. It’s not a car lot. There are many other ways to do that.”
Violators of the new ordinance face a $30 citation and towing, according to Gilroy police.
In addition, vehicle owners may be responsible for towing charges.
Councilmen first instructed city staff to study parking issues along First Street in January. City staff members have spent the last few weeks working with local businesses to craft the new policy.
“The city has investigated the availability of off-street parking and concluded that most businesses in the area have sufficient parking on private property to accommodate the needs of their customers and employees,” City Transportation Engineer Don Dey wrote in a staff report to councilmen.
Before the city can begin enforcing the new regulation, officials must first receive approval from the state transportation agency, which regulates First Street, also known as Highway 152 along that stretch. Following that, the city must paint the curbs red in appropriate areas and install parking signs. Dey expected the entire process to be complete within the next two months.
