PRESENTER: Presenter
Carly Farmer, Assistant City Engineer
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of the first reading of an ordinance to amend Section 126-367 and Section 126-369 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of New Braunfels to revise passenger and freight loading zones to be tow-away zones.
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Staff received a request from the Brauntex Theatre to enable towing for the loading zone located outside the building on W San Antonio Street. Theatre representatives expressed concerns that vehicles parked in the loading zone are issued citations, but the loading zone is unusable until the vehicle is relocated. While evaluating this request, staff decided to investigate the use of citation versus tow-away in the loading zone ordinances. This is similar to the effort in 2022 where the no parking zone ordinances were also transitioned over to all be tow-away zones.
The Code of Ordinances for the City of New Braunfels lists 30 loading zones in Section 126-367 through 369. There are three divisions of loading zones: passenger, freight, and water recreation. The purpose of each loading zone type, the ordinance section, and number of zones are shown below:
Water recreation loading zones are critical to maintaining river operations and recreation in the city. There are water recreation loading zones associated with Prince Solms Park, Cypress Bend Park, Last Tubers Exit, and multiple river outfitter locations. All water recreation loading zones are tow-away zones where offending vehicles are towed from the street. The passenger loading zones are located adjacent to schools, churches, the Brauntex Theatre, and the Comal County Courthouse. The freight loading zones are located adjacent to various businesses, the Civic Center, the Comal County Courthouse, the Comal County Tax Office, and mail pick-up/drop-off areas. All but one of the passenger and freight loading zones are citation zones where citations are issued to the offending vehicle by the police.
Vehicles parked within passenger and freight loading zones can be disruptive to business, community, and government operations. Heavy vehicle deliveries and people with mobility challenges rely on these designated areas for close access to their destinations, and the inability to remove obstructions from loading zones is inconvenient and inhibiting. In order to be consistent in both the enforcement of loading zones and the signs posted to identify them, staff is pursuing the conversion of all loading zones zones to tow-away zones.
ISSUE:
The loading zone ordinances for the City of New Braunfels are not consistent between citation zones and tow-away zones.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☒Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
Traffic control signs cost approximately $150 each. Sufficient funding is available in the FY 2025 Approved Streets and Drainage Budget.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends revising the selected loading zones to be tow-away zones.