News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Confusion reigns over back-in parking

Last updated Jul 24, 2012 12:0pm0
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Rick Judy count

Large trucks can block most of the bike lane on Main Avenue.

The back-in parking project just finishing up on Main Avenue and a block of Larch Street has generated a lot of heat in Sisters - and some notions that have assumed the stature of urban legend.

The project is not popular (see related story, page 4) and many in Sisters question the origins and purpose of the redesigned parking configuration.

Back-in parking will be completed for the full length of Main between Pine and Locust within the next few weeks. Larch Street between Main Avenue and Cascade will be striped as back-in parking as well. That block of Larch brings the westbound bike lane from Cascade to Main. The west side of Pine Street between Main and Cascade will also be back-in striped for the same reason.

Contrary to popular belief, there are no plans to install back-in parking anywhere else in the city.

Despite the rumors, Main Avenue was selected over Hood Avenue for the bike route not because there were more "influential" businesses on Hood, but because the Sisters TSP highlighted the need for significant pedestrian improvements on Main Avenue - sidewalks were either non-existent or in bad repair. Hood was a lower priority because the pedestrian access was in much better shape.

Back-in parking was recommended by the Sisters TSP Project Advisory Committee and added to the Sisters Transportation System Plan (TSP) in December of 2008 and approved in 2010 after some six community workshops in 2007 and 2008. Focused workshops with a number of the Main Avenue merchants were also held during that time period.

The decision process that resulted in back-in parking started with the requirements of the pending Cascade Avenue Project in 2008. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recognized the failure of the roadbed (to several feet down) on Highway 20/Cascade Avenue as a major challenge that needed to be addressed.

Recognizing that the significant repair of the roadbed and sidewalks would result in a "concrete corridor," as described by ODOT Project Manager Mike Darling, the City of Sisters, with significant assistance from ODOT, aggressively pursued federal and state grant funds to beautify the Cascade Avenue corridor in conjunction with the Highway 20 roadbed overhaul.

Through a variety of creative grant funding efforts, Community Development Manager Pauline Hardie and ODOT's Darling were able to secure all but about $1 million of the more than $6 million required to complete the project, now scheduled for completion in the summer of 2014. Other grant funding is pending.

In order to complete the Cascade Avenue project as designed, the city applied for and received a variance from the state (approved by the freight lobby) to reduce the width of Cascade Avenue to 14 feet from the normally required 16 feet.

The narrower Cascade roadway did not allow adequate space for the TSP-required bike lanes. Through aggressive grant writing, the city and ODOT were able to get grants to upgrade the roadway, parking and sidewalks on Main Avenue which would allow sufficient width for the requisite bike lanes while at the same time significantly improving the parking, sidewalks, curbs and landscaping on Main.

Although it was not a requirement of the Main Avenue grant(s), there was a strong indication that grant applications that included bike lanes with back-in parking would be given preference. The understanding is that Sisters won the grant based in part on back-in parking along the bike route.

Some local residents have questioned the value of back-in parking as a bicycle/pedestrian safety measure, noting that large vehicles take up almost all of the bike lane. Long-bed trucks also have their beds sticking out into the sidewalk.

Critics also note that people pulling out of back-in spaces tend to do so quickly and with no back-up lights to warn pedestrians or cyclists.

According to research noted by the city, other cities have successfully installed and adapted to back-in parking including Victor and Boise, Idaho; Washington D.C. (on one-way streets); Santa Barbara; San Francisco; and New York City. These implementations included tourist areas on major connector streets.

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Back-in parking is confusing and unpopular

Merchants are wary, their regular customers are angry and confused, and the tourists are mystified. Back-in parking has proven to be an ongoing controversy in Sisters.

Many of the businessmen and businesswomen along Main Avenue said they were unwilling to go on record because they didn't want to damage "their relationship" with the city. The customers of those businesses had no such reservations.

While many of the Main Avenue merchants expect that their regular customers will eventually adjust to back-in parking, they also reported a great deal of anger and frustration among their customers.

By "adjust," merchants mean that many customers are parking to the side (head-in diagonal parking) or in the back of the businesses. The Hair Caché and Cascade Fitness have converted several employee parking spaces in back of their building to allow customers to head-in park.

Bank of the Cascades (BOTC) manager Davina Luz said, "I do have to say that our parking lot (on the side of the bank) is more active than it has ever been in the four years since I've been here, and so is our drive-through. People are finding alternative ways of banking with us."

As was the case with many of the Main Avenue merchants, Luz also noted that the majority of her customers are local, not tourists, so the education on back-in parking is different for them.

Fred McCaulou, owner of Sisters Feed & Supply, Mike Sundvall, new owner of Cascade Fitness, and Theresa Robertson, owner of The Hair Caché, noted that while their regular customers are "finding a way," they have each seen what appeared to be "drop-in" customers or tourists make a couple of attempts at back-in parking and then just drive on.

Sundvall reported a car backing into a customer's car on day two, and in the same week there was a crash in front of his business caused by somebody pulling out. He also reported that a customer in her brand new Toyota Tacoma pickup backed in legally and tore up her exhaust system on the curb.

McCaulou said, "A vast majority of customers don't like it. It ranges from people that are mad about it to those that have tried it and don't like it. Most people are good about it - not blaming the store owner."

Like most of the other merchants that were interviewed, McCaulou does not feel that he has lost any significant business because of the back-in parking, and he expressed his belief that his customers would "settle in" in time.

Anecdotal observation puts compliance at about 50/50 on any given day, with Angeline's Bakery appearing to have more violators than most on any given day. Angeline Rhett, owner of the bakery said, "I'm reserving judgment." She attributes the high number of head-in parkers at her establishment to those "just running in to get something quick and pop right out." She admitted to doing the same thing herself when there was not traffic and she was just stopping by quickly.

Currently, the sheriff's office is only giving warnings and handing out the tri-fold brochure on back-in parking produced by the city. A number of the merchants expressed concern about what will happen when the warnings turn in to real tickets with real fines. The concern is both for losing customers, and for the anticipated upsurge in anger.

A consistent complaint by merchants and customers alike was the signage for the project. While locals can be expected to understand to learn what is expected of them, tourists seem to be totally confused. There are reports of several people driving in the left lane assuming that Main Avenue is a one-way street. Others laughed about the "mistake" the city made when they striped the street. Most report never seeing the signs until after they were parked.

The merchants believe the signs are too high, too small, and not easily seen from the driver's seat.

While the project is supposed to improve bicycle safety, several said they believe that the back-in parking makes the bike-lane much less safe. They report that when they bike on Hood Avenue - with head-in diagonal parking - cars backing out are easier to spot because their back up lights are on, and, because they can't see the traffic, they are backing out very slowly and much more cautiously.

By contrast, merchants and cyclists alike reported that most legal back-in parkers exit their space very quickly and have on a number of occasions "scattered" cyclists in the bike lane. The drivers are apparently looking for cars, and do not see the bicycles moving quickly and close-in to the parking lane, where the bike lane is located.

Merchants and customers alike bemoan the fact that there is a new sound on Main Avenue: The frequent honking of horns.

Despite all the criticism, there was praise all around for the job that Paul Bertagna, director of public works, and local contractor Robinson and Owen did to make it clear to customers that businesses were open during the construction, and to keep affected merchants up to speed on what to expect each and

every day.

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