MONROE - Parking in downtown Monroe is not timed, but parking outside the marked stalls can get you a $20 ticket.
Police Chief Fred Kelley said complaints have been coming in to his department about vehicles parking in the mid-block crosswalks.
Some drivers are parking their vehicles diagonally - and in some cases, parallel to the curb - on the crosswalk.
The new mid-block crosswalks were installed as part of the downtown street reconstruction project last year. The crossings are identifiable by the colored, brick-like, stamped concrete.
However, the parking spaces next to the outside curb are also constructed in the same color and pattern.
Kelley said snow does make seeing the parking spaces difficult, but state law does not allow parking within 15 feet of a cross walk.
To more clearly identify the new crosswalks, Kelley asked the City of Monroe Public Safety Committee Monday to approve erecting crosswalk signs.
Ticketing parking outside marked stalls has been in effect for 10-15 years, Kelley said Tuesday.
Kelley also asked the committee to approve signs for posting the 15-mile-per-hour speed limit.
The Public Safety Committee approved both types of signs.
Handicapped parking spaces on the Square have already been identified with signs.
The committee also postponed approving any purchase of a license plate recognition equipment until Sept. 1.
Funding for the system, $38,200, was included in the Monroe Main Street budget for the downtown reconstruction project. The city bonded $4.2 million for the entire project. The project is being paid for from Tax Increment District No. 7 funds.
Kelley said the $38,200 was a quote received in September 2008, and was good for only 60 days.
The package included a computerized license recognition system with camera and software; an electronic ticket issuer machine and an electric vehicle on which to mount the camera.
The Monroe Police Department and City of Monroe are asking drivers to pull their vehicles fully forward into parking stalls on the Square. Long vehicles, particularly, can restrict traffic flow on the streets.
Kelley said snow against the curbs could be causing of some of the problem.
However, drivers could also have trouble perceiving when parking along the two middle lanes of parking spaces.
According to a Fehr-Graham spokesperson, the vehicles' front bumpers "do not even come close" to each other along these two lanes. Fehr-Graham is the construction firm hired by the city to oversee the Square reconstruction project.
The parking design allows less than a foot of bumper to overhang the curb.
Streets around the Square are not narrower than they were before the reconstruction.
Police Chief Fred Kelley said complaints have been coming in to his department about vehicles parking in the mid-block crosswalks.
Some drivers are parking their vehicles diagonally - and in some cases, parallel to the curb - on the crosswalk.
The new mid-block crosswalks were installed as part of the downtown street reconstruction project last year. The crossings are identifiable by the colored, brick-like, stamped concrete.
However, the parking spaces next to the outside curb are also constructed in the same color and pattern.
Kelley said snow does make seeing the parking spaces difficult, but state law does not allow parking within 15 feet of a cross walk.
To more clearly identify the new crosswalks, Kelley asked the City of Monroe Public Safety Committee Monday to approve erecting crosswalk signs.
Ticketing parking outside marked stalls has been in effect for 10-15 years, Kelley said Tuesday.
Kelley also asked the committee to approve signs for posting the 15-mile-per-hour speed limit.
The Public Safety Committee approved both types of signs.
Handicapped parking spaces on the Square have already been identified with signs.
The committee also postponed approving any purchase of a license plate recognition equipment until Sept. 1.
Funding for the system, $38,200, was included in the Monroe Main Street budget for the downtown reconstruction project. The city bonded $4.2 million for the entire project. The project is being paid for from Tax Increment District No. 7 funds.
Kelley said the $38,200 was a quote received in September 2008, and was good for only 60 days.
The package included a computerized license recognition system with camera and software; an electronic ticket issuer machine and an electric vehicle on which to mount the camera.
The Monroe Police Department and City of Monroe are asking drivers to pull their vehicles fully forward into parking stalls on the Square. Long vehicles, particularly, can restrict traffic flow on the streets.
Kelley said snow against the curbs could be causing of some of the problem.
However, drivers could also have trouble perceiving when parking along the two middle lanes of parking spaces.
According to a Fehr-Graham spokesperson, the vehicles' front bumpers "do not even come close" to each other along these two lanes. Fehr-Graham is the construction firm hired by the city to oversee the Square reconstruction project.
The parking design allows less than a foot of bumper to overhang the curb.
Streets around the Square are not narrower than they were before the reconstruction.