09-10-18 EmailCommissioner Stinson,
As you are well aware, the City of Atlantic Beach is experiencing de facto parking on many of its streets near the
beachfront. This parking is especially problematic during the summer and often has resulted in serious challenges to
private/commercial/emergency vehicular traffic as well as pedestrians. It has gotten dramatically worse over the past
few years until now it can easily be said that it poses serious safety concerns that need the urgent attention of the
Commission.
On many of our narrower streets the de facto parking situations are not exclusively caused by beach -goers. My
observation is that many are the result of homeowners parking in front of their residences.
I would like therefore to suggest the following:
1) Make the aforementioned changes to the parking code, and/or
2) Re -orient East/West streets between Ocean and Beach, identify and properly mark the resulting parking spaces.
Street
Street width*
Direction of traffic Parking affected
Ahern
21
1 -way East
0
1St
17
1 -way West
0
2nd
17
1 -way East
+6-7
3rd
18
1 -way West
+6-7
4th
17
2 -way
0
5th
16
2 -way
0
6th
16.5
2 -way
0
7th
20
1 -way East (From East Coast (Adele Grage) +10-15 **
8th
22
2 -way
0
Club
21.5
2 -way
0
10th
20
1 -way East
+3-4
11th
16.5
1 -way West
+3-4
12th
20
1 -way East
+3-7
13th
15
1 -way West
+3-7
14th
13.5
1 -way East
+3-6
15th
20.5
2 -way
0
16th (to Beach)
17.5
2 -way
0
Dewee
18
1 -way West
+6-7
Shell
17
1 -way East
0
Coral
15
2 -way
0
17th
17
2 -way
0
18th
22
2 -way
-14
19th
19.5
2 -way
0
20th
15
2 -way
0
* Note measurements are approximations utilizing Googlemaps.com imagery.
** Incorporates current parking situation experienced during events held at the park and during voting.
*** Negative number reflects I8"' St Parallel Parking
vice nose -in to comply with 20' width requirement
I believe adopting this plan (or some refinement of it) will result in the following:
(1) Creation of "open" roads for emergency vehicles in even the busiest "beach" months.
(2) Recognizing/absorbing the present parking realities (de facto parking spaces) while relieving congestion they
create on current two-way streets;
(3) Allowing proper marking of "legal" parking spaces in these congested areas;
(4) Addressing the present-day gaps in the beach renourishmnent computations.
Concurrent with this "One-way" street design, I believe the city should amend its parking ordinances to prohibit any
parking (temporary or permanent) that would result in less than 10' clearance between the edge of the temporarily
parked vehicle and the opposite edge of the street on one way streets and 7' of clearance between the parked vehicle
and the centerline of the street on two-way streets.
Another issue facing our city is the apparently non-regulated private development of City Right -of -Ways (rocks, bushes,
reflector posts, planters, railroad ties, pavers etc). While it is understandable that homeowners want to take steps to
beautify the front and or enhance parking for their homes, in some instances these "improvements" result in both
vehicular and pedestrian traffic impediments which could expose the City to added liability should they be a proximate
cause of an accident.
One way to address this issue is to amend our citywide parking ordinance to ban any parking on any
unmarked/unpermitted City Right -of -Way. This will entail issuing "permits" to homeowners should they wish to make
"improvements" (parking spaces/rocks or other obstructions, trees etc.) to the right-of-way in front of their homes. This
permit would be issued after submission of a simple plan taking into consideration both the impact on traffic as well as
environmental concerns. The initial permit would be renewable at a set period for each street (2-5 years) simply by
submitting a letter requesting an extension and paying any relevant fees. This city wide "permit" process would re-
inforce the "public" nature of the right-of-ways without having to "reclaim" present encroachments, establish a base
line to easily determine compliance/correct safety issues, and allow the city flexibility should other uses of the right-of-
way be deemed necessary at some point in the future. Included in the permit should be terminology reflecting the
applicant accepts all responsibility for any reasonable damages resulting from these changes.
Fee suggestion:
Occasional parking in front of residence...................................Free
(Defined as a period less than 24 hours and no more than 8 days a month)
Substantive landscaping...........................................................$45 initial and $5 bi-annual renewal
(Any landscaping which restricts access to the Right of Way ie. Rocks, Trees, bushes, planters)
Improved parking (asphalt, cement, pavers, etc.) .................. $200 per space per year
The amount of the fee is only a suggestion. Fees should be set to self -fund the permitting process. A secondary benefit
of the permitting process is that it allows the city to uniformly claim/re-claim its RoW's throughout the city while
minimizing the impact of the vast majority of citizens who do not use the RoW in front of their homes for anything but
the occasional parking of family or visitors.