BIG TRUCKS, LITTLE SPACES
Council driving toward new parking rules for Phillips Avenue, official vote scheduled
Large pickup trucks and vans could soon be prohibited from using diagonal parking spaces in parts of downtown Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls City Councilor Jennifer Sigette this week told The Dakota Scout she will propose an ordinance at the council’s Nov. 19 meeting that would make it a fineable offense to park a vehicle on the street between Ninth and 13th streets that obstructs the lane of traffic.
The Northwest District councilor said that as personal-use vehicles have increased in size, many have also outgrown the diagonal parking spaces found along that stretch of Phillips Avenue, the city’s most densely developed commercial corridor.
“It’s a safety hazard,” she said, referring to sight-line challenges that can occur for drivers when leaving parking spaces with oversized vehicles parked nearby.
Sigette also noted some extended-cab trucks and oversized cargo or touring vans parked along Phillips Avenue can force drivers to cross the center line to avoid a collision.
Under the proposed ordinance, being co-sponsored by Southwest District Councilor Ryan Spellerberg, parked vehicles not at least 10 feet from the center line of the road would receive a fine of $15. The rule would be enforced at all times, with parking attendants monitoring during business hours and Sioux Falls Police tasked with enforcement on evenings, nights, and weekends.
But the 142 parking spaces included in the proposed rule wouldn't be off-limits for every extended-cab pickup or full-sized van.
That stretch of Phillips Avenue is 56 feet wide from curb to curb. Factoring for the 60-degree angled parking and bumper overhang, vehicles exceeding 20 feet in length could be at risk of violating a 10-foot clearance rule if placed on the books.
Rather than forcing drivers, parking attendants, and police to carry tape measures to ensure parking compliance, Sigette said line markings would be installed along Phillips Avenue where the rule would apply.
If approved, the ordinance wouldn’t take effect until May 1.
Sigette said that’s intended to give the street division time and ample weather conditions to paint the line markings.
The proposal comes with the endorsement of the city’s parking advisory board and was first discussed by the City Council at an informational meeting last month.
There’s likely to be a public awareness campaign launched ahead of implementation of the ordinance, and not just to publicize the new rule, but also other general information about parking downtown like the availability of ramps, parking garages and side street parking.
“There are 4,000 parking spots in downtown Sioux Falls and this is just those 142 spots and just on Phillips. So this is very narrow.”
I am very much in agreement with this new ordinance. Long vehicles make it dangerous and slow traffic.
Please make this effective on Main also. It's more dangerous there as traffic is faster and it is impossible to see past a pickup parked on the driver's side of an exiting vehicle. It would be that many more spots.