August 22, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins City Council Meeting – Bigfoot99 file photo
A Rawlins resident asked the city council recently to address parking issues along Murray Street.
During each Rawlins city council meeting, time is set aside for citizen participation. People are given five minutes to address the council members about an item not on the agenda. The council is not permitted to respond to the person’s comments.
At the citizen’s participation portion of the August 15th city council meeting, Rawlins resident Art Canaday said he wanted to discuss parking in the city’s rights-of-way. Canaday said nearly 100 vehicles were parked on the side of Murray Street. Canaday said the problem is widespread.
A right-of-way is an area of land set aside by the city for street and utility use. Title 10 of the Rawlins municipal code states that parking within certain city rights-of-way is prohibited. Fines range from $10 to $50 depending on the number of offenses within a 12 month period.
Canaday presented the council members with printed copies of the city’s ordinances governing parking on public streets. He asked the council to either enforce the regulations or hold a public meeting to address the continuing violations.
Canaday said private vehicles parked in city rights-of-way isn’t limited to Murray Street. He said the council needs to find a way to enforce the ordinance or amend it to allow on-street parking.
Canaday said he has three of his own vehicles parked in a city right-of-way on Murray Street. He said the city should clearly define what is considered a right-of-way and enforce the existing ordinance.
Canaday said the city must address the 97 vehicles illegally parked along Murray Street. The Rawlins resident suggested the council solicit input from affected citizens.
Canaday urged the council to act. Being part of the citizen’s participation portion of the meeting, the council members were unable to acknowledge Canaday’s complaints.
