The Kalona City Council continued discussion on the addition of “No Parking” areas throughout the city during their regular meeting Monday. 

The proposed areas for  “No Parking” signs include the east side of all streets in the Harvest Hill subdivision, 5th Street from C to D Avenue on both sides of the street from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., 9th Street from E to F Avenue plus 130 feet with “No Parking” hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the school year and F Avenue from 6th to 10th Street on both sides of the street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the school year. The council expressed that there have been many times where school buses can barely fit through the parked cars on F Avenue and that restricting parking would give school buses and other larger vehicles the necessary space. Residents in attendance expressed concerns for not having parking for guests during the day along F Avenue as well as school buses and other vehicles increasing traffic during school dropoff and pick-up hours. A resident on F Avenue noted that many of the vehicles driving on the street do not adhere to the 25 mph speed limit, making it more dangerous for all residents in the area. Following comments from the public, the council decided to table the first reading. City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh explains the next steps in this process, “We’re gonna take the next couple of weeks to work with the school district, to work with others to get answers as to what was brought up this evening. Then I would anticipate that we would look to have that first reading at our next meeting for all four of those.”

Possible solutions discussed at the meeting include having school buses utilize Highway 22 to avoid F Avenue or change the proposed hours to allow parking before and after school drop-off and pick-up. No concerns were expressed for the other proposed streets.