INDIANAPOLIS -- A City-County Councilor is proposing harsher enforcement of permit parking areas in Indianapolis neighborhoods, which means you could pay a fine next time you’re caught parking there without the proper permit.
More than 75 residential streets in Indianapolis are currently designated as “Residential Permit Parking Zones” meaning parking is prohibited unless you have the proper permit. The designation is meant to make it easier for people living in neighborhoods with chronic parking issues to find a spot close to their home, and permits are available for free to anyone whose legal residence is in that zone.
But that's not always the case.
Rick Truex lives in the Fletcher Place Neighborhood and he says a lot has changed in the 15 years he’s been there, including dozens of businesses which bring hundreds of patrons to the area.
Not all bad in the grand scheme of things, unless your only parking space is in the street in front of your home, and those patrons are taking up every parking spot on your block.
“It gets frustrating sometimes when you have to – half a block – carry 10 loads of tools,’ said Truex. “The worst ever was I couldn’t get within two-and-a-half blocks.”
City-County Councilor Jeff Miller says the zones were created as part of an executive order, more than a decade ago but the enforcement of those zones has been “spotty” at best.
That’s why he’s proposing to add the residential zones into city code, along with a $100 fine for violators.
“The police eventually have found out that enforcement was difficult because the law and the code is what gives them the ability to write a ticket,” said Miller. “They were questioning whether they could even write a ticket. So we’re putting it into the ordinance to make it official.”
He says the signs – which are posted randomly along parts of the street – are confusing, and the zones aren’t enforced.
The proposal would also formally establish residential permit parking zones in many city streets. Many of them technically already exist through an executive order more than a decade ago, but the proposal formalizes the following zones:
A council committee is scheduled to review Miller’s proposed changes on Thursday.
If you have similar parking issues in your neighborhood you can request the city designate your street a residential permit parking zone and they will look into the possibility based on your situation.
The Department of Public Works looks at whether parking is a chronic issue and residents have to access off-street parking before assigning designations.
The zones require drivers who live on the street to apply for a free permit.
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