Tag Archives: Streets

Council, without public input, passes $40 car sales fee

Posted on by
Reply

It will cost $40 to park a car on the street and stick a “for sale” sign on it, under an ordinance adopted Tuesday by the Common Council.

Anyone wanting to sell a car on public property — namely, streets — will have to fill out an application and have the vehicle inspected by the Department of Public Works. There could be fines and towing for those who don’t obey.

The public not notified of the ordinance or provided an opportunity for input before the measure was  debated and approved, 10-4, by the council Tuesday morning.

The $40 fee already is in effect in small areas of the city, and Ald. Joe Davis asked the council’s Public Safety Committee to extend it to his district as well. The committee, instead, recommended Tuesday morning that it be extended to the entire city and the council agreed a short time later.

A portion of Ald. Robert Donovan’s district was the first to be subject to the $40 fee. Donovan told the committee that the large volume of car sales on the streets were causing problems in some areas. He said some of the cars sold turned out to be stolen.

Ald. Robert Puente said it would be easier for police to enforce the ordinance if it were citywide.

Voting against the measure were Aldermen Jim Bohl, Michael Murphy and Joe Dudzik and Alderwoman Milele Coggs.

Barrett right on veto

Posted on by
Reply

Mayor Tom Barrett likely will get overridden on his veto of the $20 wheel tax, but it was the right thing to do.

On the other hand, kudos to Ald. Robert Bauman and his allies for pushing this issue, which so badly  needed to be addressed for so long. which the mayor declined to do for too long.

A wheel tax isn’t a bad solution — it just should not be the only solution. Ald. Michael Murphy had a better idea when he proposed the combination of a $10 wheel tax and significantly reduced special assessments for street repairs. That would ensure that non-profits and land-heavy businesses and absentee landlords share in the cost of street repairs. As it stands now, those entities may well escape paying their fair share.

The council also should have done more to protect itself from pent-up demand. The wheel tax-only funding source for street repairs removes any incentive for homeowners not to insist that their wrecked — or even mildly imperfect — streets be repaired immediately. People who pay the $20 and don’t get the repairs they feel they deserve will be angry; people who rejected repairs under the assessment system will want the repairs now that the assessments aren’t attached to them.

If aldermen think liquor licenses can be a problematic pain — they ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

And, of course, if the state provided adequate local transportation needs, the entire wheel tax debate would not even be necessary.

Wheel tax vote and unintended consequences

Posted on by
2

My prediction about what aldermen will be hearing now that there is a $20 wheel tax instead of special assessments for street repairs:

The street in front of my house sucks. It’s got all sorts of potholes and it is a really, really, rough ride. Now that the wheel tax has been adopted and my neighbors and I don’t have to worry about special assessments, we’d like the street rebuilt. Now. No? If we don’t get services for the money, why the hell are we paying that wheel tax? And why does street X get rebuilt before my street does? My street is just as bad.

I also wonder if the folks who rejected street projects because of the onerous special assessments will get another chance now that there aren’t going to be those assessments. The rules have changed, after all.

The assessments, as outrageous as they were, at least functioned to moderate folks’ desire to have their streets repaired so the Department of Public Works wasn’t overwhelmed with demand. Now that those special assessments are gone, it’s doubtful that will be the case. There still is not enough money to repair all the streets that need repairing, but there is no motivation any more for residents to limit their demands for street repairs.

Watch out, aldermen, you got what you wished for. By the way, Ald. Murphy, Pinecrest Street really is in sad shape….

New lane markings recommended for Wells, State Streets

Posted on by
3

A Common Council committee this week recommended that Wells and State streets between N. 11th Street and N. 27th Street be repainted to accommodate one traffic lane and one parking lane in each direction.

The off-center lane marking configuration “has created a safety hazard for motorists and pedestrians, especially in winter driving conditions,” according to the resolution endorsed by the Public Works Committee.

State Street from N. Prospect Avenue to N. North Van Buren Street also will be repainted to accommodate one lane of traffic and parking in each direction. Existing lane markings there “also have created confusion and safety hazards during winter driving conditions,” according to the resolution by Ald. Robert Bauman.