Person Street Partnership
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District Guidelines

Permit Parking in the Person Street Partnership area 
History 
2013-14 as businesses and restaurants started being more popular, residents started having more trouble parking in front of their homes and getting driveways blocked.  
2015 One of the residents (from Franklin Street) brought the forms and petition to get the standard Permit parking program to the residents. One of the residents on Pace Street noted that this traditional program could be a significant blow to the Station Restaurant. Several residents agreed and felt it was worth asking if we could maybe just get a few permitted spots and leave the rest open to public parking, so that it would not adversely affect the Station and other businesses (but would allow residents to have parking and avoid driveways being blocked).  
November 2015 - This was presented at the Oakwood Board. The response was good support. Then it was presented at Mordecai CAC in December 2015 with good support. Presented at PSP meeting January 2016 with good support. It then was presented to City Council (after working with the parking department for several months) November 2016. They recommended a series of steps (including transportation department review, parking department review, city attorney review, etc.), this took a long time. It has been presented at Mordecai CAC 3 times total and PSP 3 times over past 3 years.  
November 2017, after multiple neighborhood meetings, reviews, it was back in city’s hands, with near 100% signatures on the petition from residential owners. It took the city until April 17, 2018 to hear it at City Council 2nd time and pass it. There were 2 weeks of warnings and then they started ticketing.  
General facts 
Signage & Hours – this signage appearance was picked because it mirrored existing signage in the NC State area. The hours were adjusted by the city attorney. Basically they have to follow precedent (there is similar program already in existence) and be fair (equal number of hours free parking, 2 hour parking and permit only parking).  
Spots – there were many things that were considered for location of spots: 1) attempt to be adjacent to driveways to lessen blocking; 2) grouped together so that public can see where they are permitted 3)traffic, fire, sign and visual impediments, distance to fire hydrant or corner or oncoming or outgoing traffic, and  many other things had to be considered. They were not placed in illegal spots or in front of commercial properties. Marking is on the street and with signs on either end of spot or groups of spots. The residents had input, but not final say on location.  
How many permit spots are on a given street? Each street has 20-40% of spots now designated as permit. On Pace Street (between Blount and Person) on a busy day before the permit parking, there were 27 vehicles parked on the block. 7 spots on Pace Street are now assigned to permit parking. 
What would the traditional permit parking look like?  
The entire block would be permit parking and would have prescribed hours that address the problem times. There are two close examples that you could check out to get an idea of what this looks like – south Oakwood neighborhood and adjacent to Broughton High School.  
How much does it cost? Residents pay $20 a year for the permit.  
Can business owners get a permit? No, it is a residential permit program only (by law). No permit spots are in front of commercial properties. 
Can you give an example of how the “pilot” program affects a designated block in the Person Street business district? 
As an example, in the single neighborhood/business block  (bounded by Person Street,Pace Street, Bloodworth Street, and Boundary Street - - Oakwood Pizza Box, William and Company,  Crawford and Son, and Pelagic are on this block) we counted 13 permitted spaces  scattered along both sides of these four streets which are not available 4pm-12am and approximately 75 - 80 spaces which are completely open with no time restrictions after 5pm. The only spot which was not available to anyone is a loading zone on Person Street which takes up about two car spaces and that is for the businesses. 
What other parking initiatives are under consideration? 
In a recent meeting with City traffic officials, the PSP, and two business owners on site, other parking remedies were discussed such as changing the one-hour parking signs to 2 hours between 8am -5pm, off sight parking possibilities for valet parking for restaurants, and the PSP's upcoming "Walk/Bike Person" initiative. Also keep in mind that many businesses are encouraging folks to walk or use ride services like Uber after consuming alcohol. 
Can this program be reviewed and rescinded? 
The program is due for review by City Council at the one year mark (April 2019). During this initial 12 months, data is being gathered about the things that are working and the things that are not. All comments made here, to the PSP, and to the Mordecai CAC will be noted and passed along to the City as the program part of this review. To get it switched earlier to a traditional permit program (where entire block is permit parking), would require petition with signatures of 70% of residents to be submitted to City Council. 
Whom could we contact with questions, complaints? 
Feel free to let us know at PSP or your residential CAC meeting. Your comments and suggestions will be forwarded to the city. And, you can contact city parking (ParkLink) at 919-996-3996.  




District Guidelines 

This portion of our website is still under construction.

Due to the phenomenal growth of Person Street over the past five years, the PSP's role has shifted from momentum building to helping to manage the "growth challenges" associated with becoming a "new hot area" in downtown Raleigh. 

This past summer, the PSP created a special task force to study and make recommendations about special events, noise, and parking. Several business and property owners along with interested neighbors met to discuss ways to help mitigate issues related to our growth challenges.  From their recommendations, we hope to create this section of "district guidelines" which will help to give folks on Person Street and the surrounding neighborhoods pertinent information on how to handle issues that may arise during special events, increases in noise levels throughout the district, and how to help alleviate problems related to parking.

Stay tuned for these guidelines! 
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