Will Permit Parking Become a Reality?

Increased traffic and parking demands have diminished the quality of life of residents in the area. Several residential blocks near Main Street have had Residential Permit Parking regulations posted. The proposal outline below attempts to refine the existing program and expand the boundaries.

Residential blocks are posted with a parking limit, usually one or two hours, but residents with permits are exempt from the time limit. This stimulates turnover of nonresident vehicles thereby increasing the parking opportunities for residents. While the program does not guarantee a parking space, it does prevent vehicles of nonresidents from parking for extended periods of time.

Any vehicle whose owner is a resident of the permit parking district is eligible for a permit. Residents must show proof of residence and that the vehicle is registered to that address. Vehicles registered anywhere outside of the permit parking district are not eligible for permits. Vehicles with three or more outstanding parking violation fines are not eligible for permits. A vehicle is an automobile, motorcycle, van or passenger utility vehicle not exceeding twenty feet in length.

A permit can be obtained for a company car if it can be demonstrated to the Parking Authority that the resident is the principal operator and that it is a company car.

The hours of enforcement will be determined by the community. Some proposed options are:

Sunday through Saturday 2:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Sunday through Wednesday 4:00 p.m. - 12.00 a.m. & Thursday through Saturday 2:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.

The map shows the proposed boundaries for the Manayunk Permit Parking District. Within that area all residential blocks would be posted for permit parking. A residential block is defined as having at least 51% of a ground floor occupancy residential in nature. Blocks not meeting that criteria will not be posted.

Parking Enforcement Officers will be assigned to patrol the area. They record the license plate number of all vehicles which do not have permits. If the vehicle remains on the block after the time limit, a $15 parking ticket is issued.

Permits cost $35 per vehicle for the first year and $20 for annual renewal. Visitor permits are available. A $10 transfer fee is required for any interim permit replacement necessitated by vehicle or license tag changes.

This is a question to be answered by Parking Authority Representatives at one of our meetings.

Another question for the Parking Authority Representatives.

There are currently 28 districts in every section of the City. It is particularly successful when a community is impacted by visitors who live outside the area such as near a transit stop, hospital or entertainment area. After permit parking regulations are posted, communities find parking for residents much more accessible. It is not the answer to every parking problem, in that it cannot create additional parking spaces, but it does reduce the impact of nonresidents on a neighborhood.

A brochure will be mailed to all residents in the proposed district. Community meetings will be held in January and February to answer questions about the program. If the community is in favor of going forward, Councilman Nutter will be contacted with details of the plan for Manayunk. He will then draft legislation to go before City Council. If it passes, signs will be posted, permits will be sold, and the Parking Authority will enforce the program.

Main Street Zoning Overlay

Over the past few weeks much has happened regarding the Main Street zoning overlay or restaurant moratorium. The Vega Grill closed and members of the Development Corporation threatened to drop the overlay.

The board of Neighborhood Council discussed the importance of the zoning overlay and we are anxious to continue negotiations for a permanent ordinance. The overlay is important to the community for many reasons.

The neighborhood is still afflicted with late night nuisance behavior. We are just beginning work on solutions to our parking problems. Repeatedly the community voiced its opinion in just one word, enough. Development needs to proceed cautiously so negative effects on the community can be minimized.

We are also concerned with the large number of college students and young adults that use our neighborhood as a party town. We are confident that most of the business community does not support this trend. The zoning overlay can aid us all in maintaining a viable residential and business community.

In order to move the negotiations along we accepted Councilman Nutter's decision to drop his appeal against Kansas City Prime. While Neighborhood Council does not support the expansion of Kansas City Prime, we will accept the decision of the Zoning Board for the expansion.

At our last general meeting however, some residents complained that the Vega Grill was a cause of late night noise and nuisance behavior. Since this restaurant is now up for sale we did not want to accept the decision to allow this expansion. Councilman Nutter is proceeding with the appeal.

It is important to fully deliberate this complex issue. A fair and reasonable overlay must be in place to halt the addition or expansion of nuisance establishments and stop the trend of turning our community into a party town. However, the ordinance must be enforceable and businesses must commit to abide by it. It must allow for some improvements to the business district. This will not be an easy task.

MANAYUNK GARDEN CLUB

& FRIENDS OF PRETZEL PARK

Construction is underway! Foundations for the garden house have been poured and the water pipes are connected. The pavement in the park along the corner of Cotton and Cresson Streets has been reconfigured. The area along Cotton Street to be used for the dog run has been widened. Over the winter, a meeting of dog owners will be held so they can determine the type of base for the area.

The dog run area needs to be graded before the fence can be installed.

An offer for a very generous donation for the park was received from a local entrepreneur. Details are not available at this time. However, the donation will be used to enhance the play area. Sam LePera, from the Department of Recreation, is working on new designs for the tot lot and play area along Silverwood Street. At a recent meeting, Mr. LePera brought a diagram of the park from 1935. He will incorporate this historic plan into the new design.

We received a $6,900 grant for a new fence around the tot lot from the Horticultural Society. This will be incorporated in the new project.

The Garden Club met on November 7 at Smith & Hawken. After a brief meeting, we received instructions on forcing bulbs indoors. We then took advantage of a generous 20% discount offered by Smith & Hawken to those present.

2000 Leaf Collection & Recycling Program

Bagged Leaf Collection 10/23 to 12/15

A separate complement of Sanitation vehicles assigned to leaves only will collect bagged leaves on a weekly basis throughout the city. Set bags out the day before your trash collection day.

Follow these tips for bagged leaf collection:

• Put leaves in CLEAR plastic bags
• Leave several feet between leaf bags and rubbish bags when setting them out for curbside collection.
• Never mist trash or other recyclable materials with bagged leaves. This contaminates leaves and make them unfit for recycling purposes.

For more information call the Streets Department's Customer Affairs Office at 215/686-5560