A Burlington City Councilman is looking to crack down on parking on sidewalks and city right-of-ways between street curbs and the sidewalk.
Councilman Tim Scott says that the parking is becoming endemic in the City, and that it’s time to start cracking down.
“They can’t park in the right of way by code, not by criminal code, by city zoning code,” Scott said, “We want to be a little prouder of the community than we are. If people aren’t proud, I understand. Some people are like that, but you’re not dragging us down with you.”
Scott toured the city, taking pictures of improper parking, and came to Tuesday’s city council work session with a stack of photos showing dozens of cars, boats, and trailers parking in the city right of ways or blocking sidewalks.
Parking in the city right of ways is not a criminal matter, unless the car, boat, or trailer is on the sidewalk, according to Burlington Police Chief Doug Beaird. City zoning code currently forbids parking vehicles between the sidewalk and the curb, but grey areas appear in places where no formal curb has been installed. It would be up to city code enforcement officials to issue tickets to cars parked on right of ways.
The City plans to rexamine it’s zoning code pertaining to parking at a later date, and step up enforcement in the interim.
