Councilman Will Hickman this week was unable to get parking banned on one side of the street where he lives after other council members raised concerns that not enough people signed a petition about the issue, and there was no formal process to request such a ban.
“I did it on behalf of my neighbors,” Hickman said. When cars are parked on both sides of Cedar Street simultaneously, he said, cars and emergency vehicles have difficulty passing through.
On Monday, Hickman withdrew the item from the council’s agenda and said he plans to talk with neighbors and try to get 80 percent of them to support a parking ban on the south side of the street. People could still park on the north side.
Hickman first raised the issue on Oct. 19 when the council granted a building permit to Faith Lutheran Day School to construct a new two-story school. Other council members didn’t dispute the problem, but said they’d rather deal with the issue separate from the day school’s permit.
At that time, the councilman brought a petition signed by 10 residents, but more people signed on since then.
Councilman Pat McLaughlan said he wanted to ensure that all neighbors voiced their opinions, not just the residential homes on the street. In addition to the day school, Cedar Street is also the home of Faith Lutheran Church, Congregation Brith Shalom and the retirement home Brighton Gardens of Bellaire.
“Can anyone shed any light on if parking is prohibited, what is the functional impact on these other establishments?” McLaughlan asked.
Other council members said they may support the parking ban if more neighbors signed the petition and indicated they really cared about the issue.
City Manager Bernie Satterwhite said he has not handled a similar situation since he’s worked for the city. Some council members proposed the creation of a more formal process to request a parking ban, similar to a process residents must follow to get speed bumps installed on their streets.
“I really think this is going to open the floodgates, and everyone’s going to want in,” said Councilman Phil Nauert. “At the very least we should have a policy the city manager has brought to us and asked us to bless.”
