Letters to the Editor

+ Two-way parking is wrong for Village
Dear Editor:
I watched the recent Town Commission meeting on first reading of a proposed ordinance amendment to limit presently permitted parking in the Village. Primarily, a few streets would be restricted to one-side parking. During the meeting, strong opinions were offered as to whether existing rules that permit both-side parking on every Village street constitute a safety hazard. The proposed ordinance amendment was unanimously adopted on first reading, and consensus was reached to have staff further consider more parking restrictions throughout the Village.

I measured the actual width of every street in the Village, as well as the width of a standard sedan, a town fire truck and a town medical emergency vehicle.  

Here is what I found to be the width of Village public streets, all of which are two-way streets that now permit two-side parking:

Pine Street is mostly a divided dirt road with two single lanes; Magnolia and Jackson are both 18 feet; Longboat Drive varies between 17 feet and 22 feet; Fox, Linley, Cedar, Hibiscus, Poinsetta, and Hughes are all 20 feet; Russell is 23 feet; Lois is 24 feet; and Broadway is 30 feet.

I measured a standard car to be 6 feet, 6 inches sideways, including side mirrors; a town fire truck to be 9 feet, 6 inches wide; and a medical emergency vehicle to be conspicuously posted to also require 9 feet, 6 inches of clearance. As for safety, please keep in mind that residents love to walk throughout the Village.

A lack of sidewalks means they must walk in the street.

My conclusions: 
If ordinary cars were properly parked on both sides of Magnolia, Jackson or much of Longboat Drive, even a car could not pass between them; certainly, an emergency vehicle could not.

Assuming two-side parking, an emergency vehicle also could not pass through ANY of our 20-foot streets. Even a passing car would risk an accident, having only a few inches of clearance on both sides.

Pedestrians walking in the street would also be endangered. Two cars coming in opposite directions could produce chaos.

As for Lois and Russell, an emergency vehicle would likely sideswipe properly parked cars on both sides, even if it could navigate the turn into or out of those narrow passages. A wider parked vehicle, such as a truck, could negate hope of passage.

The above demonstrates that two-side parking, if actually utilized, would endanger pedestrians and render emergency vehicle operation impossible or nearly impossible in all these Village streets.

That leaves only Broadway, the sole means of entry into and exit from the Village. That circumstance, coupled with being the only direct route to two restaurants and dock activities at the end of the street, make it the busiest traffic street in the Village. It is the only Village street with constant fast-moving traffic in both directions. Thus, people should not walk on or across Broadway. Broadway attracts parking from restaurant and dock usage, but fortunately, it does have a sidewalk on its south side. Because Broadway presents special vehicular and pedestrian hazards the recent amendment limits parking to its south, sidewalked side.

Finally, it is no solace that two-side parking is infrequent on many streets. We cannot control the time or place of emergencies, and we are publicly responsible to plan safely for worst-case scenarios, especially in such cases where to do so presents no hardship. 

Ed Zunz
Longboat Key