By Kathy Chouteau
Richmond’s Public Works Department is requesting funding approval from the City Council for the installation of 575 street sweeping parking restriction signs in the Richmond Annex and Panhandle Annex Neighborhoods. The department would also like to begin enforcement of the restrictions.
The request for signs is included on the Tuesday, May 19 City Council Agenda at a proposed cost of $30,000. The project would be funded by the Public Works Streets Division during the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
According to supporting documents from the Public Works Department, “The City has received multiple complaints over the years about street sweepers not being able to sweep the gutters due to the lack of residents’ cooperation in moving vehicles on street sweeping days.”
This situation has resulted in “an increased amount of debris entering the storm water as well as an increase in blight” as they aim “to meet the City’s National Pollutant Discharge System (NPDS) permit requirements.”
The Richmond Panhandle and Panhandle Annex neighborhoods were previously exempted from the City-wide Street Sweeping Program under the City-wide Street Sweeping Volunteer Program with the agreement that residents would cooperate by moving their vehicles at the appropriate times. As such, parking restriction signs were not installed and enforcement was not performed, according to the department.
The current state of affairs in these neighborhoods prompted the department’s request for the street sweeping parking restriction signs as well as to begin enforcement of them.
Should its request be granted by City Council, “proper notification of the forthcoming signs and enforcement will be provided to the community prior to commencement,” stated the department.
Access the Tuesday, May 19 City Council Agenda and its supporting documents here.
