Village to hold hearing on proposed parking changes

During a special meeting on August 4, the Whitehall Village Board introduced a potential new parking law and scheduled a public hearing for August 19 at 6 p.m. to discuss the proposed legislation.
The public hearing will allow residents the opportunity to discuss the board’s proposal for a new parking law, aimed at deterring people from parking their vehicles on grass medians within the village.
Mayor Peter Telisky stressed that this law has not yet been passed and that it has simply been proposed for discussion and voting.
The proposed law, which is titled Local Law No. 1 of 2014, is one of two main laws that the board is currently looking into regarding parking. The other law revolves around the parking of trailers on roads within the village limits.
“We will have our discussion then and hopefully we will vote on this law right afterward.” Mayor Peter Telisky said.
Telisky explained the law is being proposed due to the fact that many curbs in the Village are either worn down or the roads have been paved so high, that the curbs become unnoticeable and people begin parking on medians. The intention for the prospective law is to get people parking at actual parking spots along the curbs or in driveways, instead of parking on medians and sidewalks.
The suggested law would define a grass median as a “grass portion of any street within the Village of Whitehall located between the street curb or road edge and the sidewalk.” This would not stop people from parking their vehicles on their own privately owned grass.
Additionally, this proposal would not stop people from parking on paved medians, officials say.
“This would still allow people to park on paved medians, such as the one in front of Jillson (Funeral Home)” Telisky added. “This law strictly focuses on grass medians.”
As the law currently stands, there would be a $25 fine for first time offenders, with a $50 fine imposed on each subsequent offense, thereafter.