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• Planning Commission 11/25/03 Item 1 ITEM: Revisitation of Parking Issues on Garden Avenue in Falcon Woods SUBMITTED BY: Deb Jones, Zoning & Planning Coordinator REVIEWED BY: Heather Worthington, City Administrator EXPLANATION: Summary: Last spring, the Planning Commission held a hearing to consider a petition for permit parking on that portion of Garden Avenue that is in the Falcon Woods neighborhood north of City Hall. Residents were concerned about an increase in non- resident parking on the street, mostly University of Minnesota students and staff. Following the public hearing, the Commission voted not to recommend that the City Council authorize permit parking on Garden. The Commission also passed a motion to direct Staff to look into other options and follow up in six months. In the intervening half year, the City has continued to monitor parking on Garden Avenue and several alternatives have been tried. • Letters from the Mayor were placed on the windshields of parked cars, alerting the drivers to the possibility of parking restrictions and asking them to vary their parking. Commissioners previously received a copy of this letter. • Twin City Co-op has made space available in its parking lot for a reasonable fee. It is not known how many UM drivers have taken advantage of this opportunity. • A major campus construction project is winding up, restoring access to parking that had been unavailable for some months. Although the City has not kept a formal parking log since the beginning of the fall semester, several Staff members have made a point of observing parking on Garden two or three times a week between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, the peak time for parking. • In general, no increase in non-resident parking on Garden has been observed. If anything, it seems to have decreased slightly since September, compared to last spring. • However, there are still cars parked near the footpath every weekday, usually 2 to 4 vehicles. It is assumed these belong to non-residents. • At no time have Staff seen so many cars parked that street parking was unavailable to residents and their visitors. • Staff is still studying the issue of restricted parking signage on the curves. Staff Report: Parking on Garden 2 November 25, 2003 Page 1 of 2