City Reviewing Diagonal Parking

If something is right, it needs to be on the books, written into law. It cannot be enforced unless it is first written into law.

That is the direction the Sidney Police Department is following. While some parts of the city have parallel or diagonal parking by habit, or history, there are areas where city code have it designated opposite of what is practiced, and therefore cannot be enforced except according to what is in the written code.

Police Chief Joe Aikens addressed the Sidney City Council Tuesday, Feb. 11, with a proposal to change some of the designated diagonal parking. He told the council the effort started with complaints of diagonal parking brought to the police department. He said Sidney is primarily parallel parking unless otherwise marked.

City Manager Ed Sadler said "a couple of months ago" the city received complaints of diagonal parking disrupting traffic. Aikins said there are places where if a driver parks diagonal, with the right front bumper at the curb, the vehicle could infringe on the crosswalk and traffic flow. Some areas have become diagonal parking by habit, by history and by word of mouth.

"At some point, the only diagonal parking is the ones painted on the road," Aikens said. "If its not painted, don't park that way."

The proposal is for diagonal parking to be limited to Illinois to Hickory Streets on 9th through 18th, Jackson to Illinois Streets on 20th, 18th, 12th, 11th, 9th and 8th, from King to Jackson Streets on 11th and 9th, from Linden to King on 11th and 12th, Jackson from 12th to 13th and 19th to 21st, and on Linden from 19th to 22nd.

An agency or property owner can petition to have parking adjacent to specific property diagonal parking by contacting Aikens or Code Enforcement Office Lisa Hanley.

Action on the proposed resolution was tabled in the Feb. 11 meeting to allow the police department to inform the community of planned changes.