Back-in parking coming to south side of Jewett

The lone exception to the back-in parking provision applies to the first parking space east from the corner of S 1st Avenue. That spot has been designated for disabled motorists only as a parallel parking space.

Councilors felt the matter was of great enough importance that they waived a second reading of the amendment and adopted it after just one public reading.

Police Chief Tracy Wyckoff pushed for the parking revision, citing increased safety for westbound traffic as a benefit.

“From the research I’ve done and conversations I have had, I feel it is a safer method of parking in the environment we have,” Wyckoff told The Enterprise Tuesday. “There will definitely be better visibility when leaving the parking area. I would rather have people stopping for me as I back in, instead of backing out into the unknown like it is now.”

City Administrator Patrick Munyan Jr. addressed the matter further in a June 1 memorandum to the council. “There have been increasing concerns about the safety of vehicles pulling out of the angled parking spaces on the south side of Jewett,” he wrote. “Back-in parking will reduce the risk of an accident when the vehicle is leaving the parking spot” head first instead of tail first.

Munyan said the project will not have a financial impact because the cost of new signs is in the streets budget.

The days of eastbound motorists turning left across the double-yellow line downtown to secure a parking space are numbered as a result of this council action. Wyckoff said signing prohibiting u-turns will also be put up.

The parking code amendment takes effect five days from today’s publication date. The Public Works Department schedule for the project calls for an end-of-June completion.

Striping and signing will be the main changes coming to downtown’s south-side parking area. No pedestrian enhancements are involved in this project.

“The additional signage cost is $226,” said Clerk/Treasurer Leana Johnson. “As far as the painting goes, the lines needed to be repainted this year so there is no additional labor or paint cost for the new lines. There will be minimal labor and materials used to black-out or grind down old paint that remains after pressure-washing.”

Councilor Kimberly Hoppus believes a switch from drive-in parking to back-in parking will be safer for all modes of transportation that use the downtown area.

“It hopefully will allow for better vision for bikes, pedestrians, cars, and trucks, may deter U-turning on Jewett Boulevard, and opens a child in a car to a point of safety, the sidewalk, rather than the street,” Hoppus said Tuesday by e-mail.

In addition, she said she supported the parking revision because it will create four to five new parking spaces in front of Hi-School Pharmacy (where a handful of parallel parking spaces now exist), and because it will prevent large pickup trucks from parking at the corner of S 1st Avenue, where they obstruct visibility for other parked vehicles and westbound traffic.

In other business last Wednesday, the council

o Passed a motion in support of a request to the Klickitat County Board of Commissioners to levy a county-wide .1% sales tax for criminal justic purposes, to be used to fund coordinated drug enforcement activities among the county’s two municipal police departments and the Sheriff’s Office.

o Approved installation by the Washington State Department of Transportation of pedestrian traffic enhancements at the corners of N Main Avenue and Jewett, and NE Wauna Avenue and Jewett.

These interim enhancements will take the form of pavement markings, tubular markers, and signs at both corners to “slow traffic turning from SR 141 across the parallel crosswalks.

The markings and markers would create bump-outs to keep vehicles out of those spaces. The signs will warn motorists to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, per state law.