City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYO R AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: FEBRUARY 27, 2024
FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: AMEND STREET SWEEPING EN FORCEMENT POLICI ES AND ESTABLISH
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF PARKING ENFORCEMENT POLICY
ISSUE:
Approve amending the City’s existi ng Street Sweeping Program enf orcement practices as it relates to first-time warnings, cease of enforcement, reinstatement of enforcement and temporary suspension of parking enforcement.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council:
1. Receive a report on the City’s existing Street Sweeping Program enforcement practices as it relates to first-time warnings, cease of enforcement; reinst ating enforcement and temporary suspension of parking enforcement;
2. Authorize implementing first-time warnings through the appeals process for street sweeping violations as it relates to residents and visitors that forget to move their vehicle, for new residents that are unfamiliar wit h the regulations, for commercial vehicles conducting business on street sweeping days, and/or fo r vehicles displaying a disabled person placards and parked during street sweeping days;
3. Authorize ceasing street sweeping enforcement during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holiday weeks;
4. Authorize reinstating street sweeping enforcement along business frontages, along school perimeters and vehicles displaying disabled person placards;
5. Establish a Temporary Suspension of Parking Enforcement Request Policy; and
6. Introduce and subsequently adopt the attached Ordinance to:
a. Add Chapter 10.08.050 to the Riverside Municipal Code authorizing the City Traffic Engineer, or designee, to suspend parking regulations or restrictions following the conditions set forth; and
b. Amend the Riverside Municipal Code authorizing the City Manager to permit parking Amend Street Sweeping Enforcement Policies and Temporary Suspension of Parking Enforcement Policy Page 2
without imposition of the time limits or fees established when a need exists due to special events or meetings to include “e lections” in Chapters 10.52.100 (B) applicable to municipal roadways and 10. 60.010 (D) for any mu nicipal parking facility.
BACKGROUND:
In 2006, parking enforcement was added to the City’s Street Sweeping Program to address parked vehicles that prevented staff from thoroughly sweeping the streets. To comply with the federal laws of the Clean Water Act the City adopted Be st Management Practices, which includes the combination of street sweeping and parking enforcement to maximize the amount of street gutters being swept and to minimize pollu tion from entering local waters. Enforcement was phased in over five years with full implementation reached in April 2011.
Residential streets are swept twice a month and high traffic areas such as downtown Riverside are swept more frequently. Sweeping operations are scheduled to reduce the impacts to residents and businesses. In residential areas, streets are swept during the day when curbside parking usage is the lightest. No parking restrictions were established in the mornings and afternoons to allow sweepers a 4-hour timeframe to sweep the streets. Commercial areas and school locations are typically swept in the early morning hours when the surrounding streets have less on-street parking demand.
Enforcement encourages drivers to move vehicles off the street to allow street sweepers to clear sediment, debris, oil, and grease that would have otherwise accumulated in the stormwater drains, Santa Ana River and eventually the Pacific Ocean. The Public Works Department reviewed the current non-enforcement practices for street sweeping and the Special Consideration requests received from the public to temporarily suspend parking enforcement. Sta ff identified that to provide first-time courtesy warnings and cease enforcement throughout the holiday season that formal modification of the enforce ment program is required. St aff have also determined that process improvements are needed to manage the volume of Special Consideration requests for suspension of parking enforcement and a clearly defined policy to deliver better results and service to the community.
Although the Street Sweeping team has been impacted by staffing shortages and aging equipment, some areas are not swept thoroughly as parked vehicles preclude street sweepers from accessing all curb areas. Past enforcement practices prevented effective sweeping in school zones, business frontage, and vehicles with disabled person placards were note cited during street sweeping days, which collectively have contributed to unswept curb space. A minimum of three car lengths of curb space is left unswept when the street sweeper drives around a parked vehicle.
On July 6, 2022, the Transportation Board rece ived a report on the establishment of parking enforcement suspension and exem ption policies. The Trans portation Board unanimously recommended the item to City Council.
On November 8, 2022, the City Council referred the discussion of Street Sweeping enforcement- related suspensions and the establishment of policies to temporarily suspend parking enforcement to the Mobility and Infrastructure Committee. Councilmembers expressed a desire to allow for flexibility in the request of temporary suspensions of parking enforcement and in the issuance of Amend Street Sweeping Enforcement Policies and Temporary Suspension of Parking Enforcement Policy Page 3
first-time warning citations. Councilmembers additionally expressed that the previously proposed 5-day notice requirement for the proposed permit system may be difficult for residents to comply with in the case of unforeseen or emergency circumstances.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
On January 12, 2023, the Mobility and Infrastructure Committee reviewed this matter. Following discussion, the Committee recommended the items outlined in the Recommendation section of this report.
In 2023, the Parking Services Division underw ent several significant changes and program updates including:
1. Appointment of a New Parking Services Manager and Senior Administrative Analyst
2. Development, robust community engagement with, and adoption of a new Parking Rates and Hours Schedule
3. Installation of new equipment in Cit y parking garages and surface facilities
4. Construction of a new surf ace parking lot at Orange and Fifth
5. Implementation of the new Parking Rates and Hours Schedule, extending into the holidays and Festival of Lights
New Citywide parking policies were not introduced amidst the rollout of the new Rates and Hours and the first holiday period during which the new rate structure was in effect.
DISCUSSION:
This report is comprised of two parts, an overview of the existing Street Sweeping enforcement practices along with staff recommendations and a proposed policy for residents requesting temporary suspension of parking enforcement.
Part 1 –Street Sweeping Enforcement Program Practices
Given the challenges that occu rred when the Street Sweeping En forcement Program was fully implemented in 2011 “Friendly Parking Enforcement” practices were promoted and have remained in place. Staff determined that City Council has not formally adopted the “Friendly Parking Enforcement” practices and the Riverside Municipal Code was not amended to incorporate these practices. Staff recommends making the following updates to the Riverside Municipal Code:
1. Allow for street sweeping citations to be dismissed as first-time warnings through the appeals process for the following circumstances:
a. Visitors and residents that inadvertently forgot to move their vehicle during designated street sweeping days;
b. Residents who have recently moved to Riverside and are not familiar with the street sweeping regulations;
c. Commercial vehicles (including landscape, pool maintenance and contractor vehicles) conducting business on street sweeping days; and
d. Vehicles displaying disabled person placards and parked during street sweeping days.
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These first-time warnings will be associated with the cited vehicle and not the driver.
2. Cease street sweeping enfor cement during the week of T hanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays. Parking enforce ment staff will utiliz e these holiday weeks to distribute the upcoming new year street sweeping calendar.
3. Cease non-enforcement practices and formall y reinstate street sweeping enforcement of the following conditions:
a. Vehicles parked/stopped along business frontages;
b. Vehicles parked/stopped along the perimeter of schools; and c. Vehicles parked/stopped displa ying a disabled person placard.
Parking enforcement for items “a” and “b” were reinstated in 2022 d ue to overwhelming requests from the business and school communities asking for more and consistent parking enforcement. Parking enforcement for item “c” will not be implemented immediately as public outreach, notifications and warnings will be provided over an extended period. See timeline below:
March 1, 2024 through
June 30, 2024
(4 months)
Parking Services will begin conducting public outreach, distributing notification flyers with FAQs about the
changes. Additional public notifications will be made
through, but not limited to the 311 Call Center, City’s social media posts and City’s website.
July 1, 2024 through
September 30, 2024
(3 months)
Parking Services will issue printed warnings from their handheld units for vehicles with disabled person placards.
These warnings will be logged in the enforcement
database for historical record. Notification flyers will continue to be handed out.
October 1, 2024
Parking Services will issue street sweeping parking
citations to vehicles with disabled person placards.
Citation dismissals as a first-time warning through the appeals process will go into effect.
Part 2 – Establishment of a Temporary Suspension of Parking Enforcement Request Policy
Between January 2021 through December 2023, Parking Services received on average 663 Special Consideration requests per year to suspend street sweeping enforcement. Many requests are made the same day of the event, which make s it challenging for staff to accommodate and coordinate with the parki ng enforcement officer. Given the high volume of requests, a clearly defined policy is necessary, and an improved process is required to manage Special Considerations more effectively.
Based on City Council’s feedback on November 8, 2022, staff revised the Temporary Suspension of Parking Enforcement Requests policy as outlined:
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1. Special Consideration requests for same-d ay suspension of enforcement shall be made immediately to the 311 Call Center or Parking Services. a. Requests shall be made immediately to prov ide office staff with reasonable time to communicate to the field staff.
b. Same-day requests shall be for emergency repair work and for unforeseen events. c. Staff shall make every attempt to suspend enforcement.
2. Special Consideration requests exceeding 7 days will require a Temporary Suspension of Parking Enforcement application to be submitted. There is no administration fee. a. Residents will be notifi ed of the application requirements when contacting the 311 Call Center or Traffic Engineering.
b. Maximum duration is 60 days with one (1) op tion to extend for an additional 60 days. c. Maximum number of suspensions at t he same address is limited to one (1) per quarter.
d. Requests for more than 120 days require approval by the Transportation Board and City Council.
For requests requiring Transportation Board Review the process would be initiated by a request made to the Public Works Traffic Engineering Division for initial review of eligibility, a minimum of one month in advance of the event to allow for the item to be placed on the Board’s agenda. Once eligibility is determined, the requestor will be notified of the decision. Staff can also take the item directly to City Council when expedited approval is required.
No consideration will be given to safety zones, such as red zones, fire hydrants, and areas posted as No Stopping. When parking restrictions are temporarily suspended, drivers shall adhere to the curb markings and/or safety laws (i.e., blocking fire hydrants, driveways, red curb, etc.) and will be cited accordingly.
The application form will be published on the City’s website and accepted digitally, in-person, by mail, or by phone via the 311 Call Center and must be received at least 5 business days before the first suspension date. The Public Works Department will work with the 311 Call Center and Communications team to ensure the public is advised of the new application process and policies.
The proposed process would improve consideration for all roadway users, facilitating temporary suspension of parking enforcement for short-term events on a street with parking regulations.
Free Parking Accommodations for Elections and Special Events
While not directly related to street sweeping, staff received se veral complaints that metered parking fees may serve as a potential barrier to voting. While there is no statutory requirement to provide free parking at a polling place, the public’s percept ion is that parking spaces should accommodate all voters free of c harge. To support polling locati ons and to remove perceived barriers, staff recommends amending the Riverside Municipal Code authorizing the City Manager to permit parking without imposition of the time limits or fees established when a need exists due to special events or meetings to include “elections” in Chapters 10.52.100 (B) for any municipal roadway and 10.60.010 (D) for any municipal parking facility.
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1. Application
2. Ordinance
3. Presentation