The other day, I went to a nondowntown business and saw that someone across the street had put out orange cones in front of his or her house saying “no parking.” I would love to be able to limit parking in front of my place, too. Who do I have to call at the city to get some of those orange cones? – Red Zone
As a resident living near the 32nd Street river launch site, Action Line feels your pain.
During peak tubing season, the neighborhood becomes clogged worse than the arteries of a chain-smoking long-haul trucker on a bacon-and-gravy diet.
River people call the launch site a “put-in.” But for nearby residents, it’s a “put-up,” because they have put up with bad behavior.
Just look at all the signs asking rafting riffraff to not block the mailbox or park across residents’ driveways.
People in a hurry often park where they’re not supposed to.
So it goes for recreationists who have a pressing deadline to rush to the river so they can do nothing but float and bloat for the next several hours.
Though rock-star parking can prompt rock-bottom behavior, pretty much every curb is fair game for temporary vehicle storage.
That’s because you don’t “own” the street in front of your domicile.
Streets are public, and people can legally park cars on most Durango residential curbs for up to 24 hours without having to move.
Moreover, Durango law prohibits do-it-yourself parking declarations.
Here’s what Section 24-26(c) of the municipal codes has to say:
“No person shall post or install private signs of any kind that attempt to declare or designate any portion of any alley or other public right-of-way as being reserved for private parking of any kind or that are otherwise in conflict with any official signs.”
Note that the Animas City signs don’t say “no parking.” They merely restate the restrictions on blocking driveways and mailboxes.
So they are legal, as are the “don’t block my driveway, you moron” tidings along East Third Avenue.
What’s not legal are cones.
When residents put out cones to protect “their” parking spot, city workers will move cones off the street, according to a parking department worker who didn’t want to be identified.
“If it becomes a problem, we’ll have a code enforcement officer talk with the person and let them know they cannot reserve spaces. But we really don’t have that many issues with it.”
From time to time, the city will set out cones to accommodate moving vans or delivery trucks, especially in the older parts of town.
“It’s OK if people can schedule that with the Parking Division, and we’ll block off the space for the time needed,” the parking person said.
Just don’t be marking your own parking.
If you’re prone to a cone, the city has shown it won’t condone your zone.
It’s time once again for the Mea Culpa Mailbox in which we look at the perils of spell Czech. See? No red squiggly lines under “Czech” despite it being utterly incorrect.
Thusly, last week’s column lauded the “cleaver” folks at Ska Brewing who retrofitted shipping containers into a restaurant.
Of course, that should have been “clever,” a typo widely caught by many loyal readers.
Let’s just say Action Line isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.
“Cleaver” really butchered a column that should be cutting-edge journalism.
Allow Action Line to mete out humble apologies.
Or maybe that should be “meat?”
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can ask for anonymity if you re-lie awn spell Czech sew off ten that yew four get two prove freed.
