July PAC: Livability Issues: Traffic and Parking

Join us for the July meeting of the Second Precinct PAC.  The topic this month is car-related  livability issues in Minneapolis.  We will meet at the Monroe Village  Community Room, 1900 Central Avenue NE, starting at 6PM.  There is always plenty of free parking on Central and cross streets; 19th and Central are also bus stops.

Traffic laws in Minneapolis are divided into two broad categories: moving vehicle violations like speeding are handled by Police-Traffic, which might be a topic for another month.  These are the actions the public is probably are the most aware of because of the sirens and flashing lights.

This month’s topic is the very broad chapter of regulations enforced by  Traffic Control, a division of the Regulatory Services Dept.  Like other divisions in Regulatory Services, these officers help us with livability issues.  This unit is led by our July speaker, Clara Schmit-Gonzalez, the city’s deputy director of parking and traffic control.

Traffic Control is responsible for some moving vehicle events.These officers direct traffic during daily rush hours and for special events, including those at the Minneapolis Convention Center, Target Center and Target Field, the TCF Stadium and the (soon to open) US Bank Stadium.

What probably impacts most of us more is the work Traffic Control does to enforce the livability  laws that involve motor vehicles.  This is the team that deals with non-moving violations like parking meter violations, the car that is blocking your driveway, the snow-bunnies that don’t move before the plows come through, the rust-bomb that the guy down the block hasn’t moved in a year, the trailer that’s parked on the street for a week.  These and so many more issues negatively impact your neighborhood ambience and your peace of mind.  Traffic Control is there to help you with them.

Traffic Control is chiefly concerned with Chapters 478 Parking, Stopping and Standing, and 482 Buses and Taxis.  Go to https://www2.municode.com/library/mn/minneapolis/codes/code_of_ordinances  Find the search box in the upper right hand corner and enter the chapter (478 or 482) you want to read.