I guess Pekin City Council member John Abel decided that if he was going to propose something extremely unpopular, he’d better do it early in his term so that people forget about it by the time his term comes up in 4 years.
But a night-time street parking ban? After all the uproar about the night-light ordinance that led to its demise? Is the obstruction from on-the-street parking really THAT big of a problem?
I can understand why the city might decide to ban nighttime parking on a street by street basis if there are certain areas where this is a real problem, but an outright city-wide ban? That seems like overkill.
This proposal doesn’t really bother me personally, but I have adequate off-street parking for my needs. Many in Pekin do not, and those same people are the blue collar working Joes that Abel, as an ex-fireman, probably did well with in February.
I’m not sure that this is politically wise for Abel, and I’m not sure it’s that big of a problem. The same folks that worked hard to kill the night-light ordinance are now mobilizing to kill this idea before it even gets off the ground. I doubt this ban will get very far, and Abel may pay for it later – especially if he keeps pushing the idea.
ADDENDUM (7/15/07): The Times has a board editorial on the subject of parking bans. We pretty much agree – any street parking ban should be handled on a case-by-case basis. I’m sure that’s certainly a more expensive and time-consuming option, but it’s the only fair way to handle this situation. Emergency vehicles and street cleaners need access, but people also need to be able to park near their homes.
1 response so far ↓
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Scott A
// Jul 17, 2007 at 9:20 am
This is exactly the kind of ignorant bullshit that Pekin continually tries to pass into law for their own financial benefit. This is one of the many reasons I have moved out of this town after 24 years.
Where in the hell are people supposed to park then? Yeah those sitting in their 350,000 dollar houses in Lake Whitehurst Estates have plenty of off street parking. But what about the normal everyday people that comprise 98% of the population in Pekin? Are people not allowed to have visitors after 10:00 at night?
Where does the problem lie? How many street cleaners do you see out at 2:00 in the morning? This is just another way for Pekin to stick it to their residents. Just like the blinking light thing. Well you are required to have a blinking light in your car. Oh and by the way, we are selling them through the city. How convenient. Not only are we going to ticket you if you don’t comply, we will make money off of you even if you do abide by the law.
And if you can’t see a damn parked car on the side of the road, you need to get your ass off of our streets. Its not like parked cars just jump out in front of you.
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