Where's the Data for Parking Ban on The Mercers?

I would like you to be aware of a potential new ordinance that is being proposed by the city council. They are to parking during daylight hours. For many residents along this byway it would mean that guests and repairmen would not have access to those homes. This is going to negatively impact more people than you think and has become a basic quality of life issue. I emailed the City Council my concerns and have received this response from Deputy Mayor Grausz; "while this is going to sound wrong, my mind is made up on the underlying question."

It sounds wrong because it is!

I specifically asked him for supporting data for the change other than "it's a safety issue." I asked if there has been a spike in the incident rate increase but he would not supply me with any other figures or documents of support. There is a meeting on March 5th at 7 p.m. I think that it is important for the general public to have an opportunity to not only know about but comment on this proposal.

As a cyclist myself I understand that the Mercer's can be a some what dangerous place to cycle. But I do not think that closing the shoulders to parking is the answer. In fact most cyclist refuse to use the shoulder's in the first place and have created more dangerous situations for pedestrians and drivers by not obeying the basic traffic laws.

I also think that the city should take into account the number of cyclists that are not Island residents. Now the council wants to inconvenience the Island residents for non resident cyclists?

I just don't think that's right. Here is a link to the information about the proposal. http://www.mercergov.org/News.asp?NewsID=1490