Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Public Works

TO:	Mike Wildgen
FROM:	Chuck Soules
Date:	February 1, 2005
CC:	Terese Gorman, David Woosley
RE:	TSC Agenda Item No. 4 – 1.3.05 Water’s Edge, 847 Indiana Street

At the January 3, 2005 meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission, the owners of Water’s Edge, 847 Indiana Street, made a request to construct perpendicular parking within the road right-of-way of Indiana Street. 

The staff report included the following:

1. On-street angle parking is not permitted unless approved by ordinance.
2. Angle parking does provide more parking than parallel parking.
3. Several studies have found angle parking to be more hazardous than parallel parking.  The principal hazard in angle parking is the lack of adequate  visibility for the driver during the back-out maneuver.  Additional hazard results from the driver who stops suddenly upon seeing a vehicle ahead in the process of backing out.
4. As proposed at this location, a vehicle backing out has no sight distance available and will be backing immediately into a traffic lane similar to what is experienced in an off-street parking lot.  The main difference is that speeds are usually much lower in a parking lot than on the street and drivers in a parking lot expect vehicles to be backing out.  This is complicated by the fact that there is perpendicular parking along the east side of this street in this area.

The TSC recommends denial (6-1) of this request.

The HRC reviewed this request and found that the proposed construction “would not encroach upon, damage, or destroy any historic property or the environs” and approved the request.

Other Information:

• Right-of-way of Indiana is 80 ft.
• The street width is 31 ft. back to back.
• There is no record of accidents due to the off-street angled (perpendicular) parking across the street.

If the City Commission desires to approve this use of the right-of-way a License Agreement should be entered into between the City and Water’s Edge.  Typically, off-street parking in the right-of-way is constructed and maintained by the owner making the usage request; however, is considered public parking.

Action Requested:  Pending City Commission consideration, direct staff as appropriate.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles F. Soules, P.E.

Director of Public Works