Police Department Requests Input via Social Media
The City of Marshfield is in the process of examining its current parking ordinance (read the ordinance here), and the Marshfield Police Department is seeking citizen input on the issue.
Department staff wrote on the Police Department Facebook page:
“This may be a hot topic but as some of you may know from Board of Public Works meetings, we are looking (as a city) to change or eliminate the alternate side parking ordinance…With that, we will be looking at what streets necessitate posting no parking on one side of the street due to being too narrow when two cars are parked across from each other for snow plows or ambulances to safely pass. We realize that this could inconvenience some due to now having cars always parked on your side of street or across from your driveway. Please realize we are still working on this and the alternate side parking ordinance is still in effect on non-curbed or ditched streets. Thoughts???”
Marshfield Police Department often uses social media to solicit citizen input, and the community has responded well so far on this topic.
“We value community input because a lot of things are brought to our attention that are off our radar,” said Gramza. “It’s good to have that open dialog.”
Anyone with further input is welcome to contact Marshfield Police Department, as this helps develop a fuller understanding of problem areas.
“We’re just one part of the community,” said Gramza. “Without getting feedback and buy-in from more of the community, it’s difficult to make decisions and know that we’re making the right decisions.”
The eventual goal of this survey is to work with the Public Works department to better develop alternatives to the current parking ordinance, which includes drafting a new ordinance, posting the new streets, and eliminating alternate side parking. This would ideally make parking more understandable for both residents and visitors.
By evaluating streets that are too narrow, the Police Department hopes to prevent issues with emergency vehicle and snowplow access. Please note that these changes would not affect the overnight parking restrictions during the winter months or snow emergencies, as those would remain the same as they are now.
