Council will discuss parking ticket exemptions for those who
live downtown
– but not for those who work there
Gilroy – City council has given local police the go-ahead to start enforcing two-hour parking limits downtown, but officials will discuss exempting residents from restrictions before enforcement begins in April.
On Monday, council members approved enforcement times that will take effect in coming months and decided to meet with downtown business owners to discuss the possibility of a residential parking pass.
Unless exceptions are made for downtown residents and workers, police will begin handing out $30 tickets in April to any one who parks more than two hours on the blocks immediately north or south of construction along Monterey Street, as well as along both sides of Eigleberry Street between Sixth and Fourth streets. Police also will enforce two-hour parking limits in the lots off Eigleberry Street. Council voted unanimously Monday to enforce those restrictions between 7am and 6pm, Monday through Saturday.
“I’d like to ask the council that the hours of parking be (approved), but ask staff for some sort of parking sticker that would give residents an exemption,” Mayor Al Pinheiro recommended prior to the vote. “I’ve gotten too many emails and there’s too many questions still hanging out there. Maybe we can have another conversation with the downtown merchants.”
In the brief discussion prior to approval, council members made no mention about the possibility of an exemption for downtown workers, who have complained about the prospect of having to park farther away from jobs or move their cars every few hours.
After the vote, Pinheiro said that residents would be the sole focus of any exemptions. He said an exception for workers, such as allowing them to park all day in one of several lots along Eigleberry Street, is unlikely.
“They’re going to have to walk or have someone move their cars,” he said. “The number one priority is residents. The number two priority is the shoppers.”
City officials are trying to balance the needs of residents with those of downtown business owners, who will lose 83 storefront parking spaces in coming months as a year of major construction commences in the city’s historic core.
In March, construction crews will begin tearing up the streets and sidewalks along a two-block stretch of Monterey Street, from Fourth to Sixth streets. PG&E crews have already shut down half of the road to install gas lines before the streetscape project begins.
When the Monterey Streetscape project is complete, businesses doors will open onto a more spacious street with angled parking and wider sidewalks with new streetlamps and trees. But first, they have to weather 10 months of traffic detours and closed sidewalks.
Before the major construction and parking enforcement begin, police will hand out flyers to business owners, stick notices on car windows and run newspaper advertisements as part of a campaign to raise awareness.
It has been more than a decade since the city enforced any of the parking limits in the downtown core. And for years, downtown business owners have complained about a lack of parking in front of their stores. Now, officials are getting serious about parking enforcement as they prepare to lose 83 spaces as part of year-long overhaul along Monterey Street. At the end of the project, the street will have gained an additional 17 spaces.
Parking enforcement will last until the October completion date of the Monterey Streetscape project. Police will use chalk markers to aid in the ticketing process during that time, but long-term plans could involve parking meters or meter maids, according to City Transportation Engineer Don Dey. He said the city will conduct a parking management plan for the downtown that will encompass everything from enforcement procedures to the types of restrictions.
