Occasionally, people feel compelled to write and voice their concerns. The following is a guest post from a resident with concerns regarding the parking in Palisade Village, egress for emergency vehicles, status and enforcement of DuPont Municipal Code, and Priorities.

I saw it [commented] on [RealDuPont.com] about the inability of the city to enforce DMC due to a lack of resources.  I wanted to note a specific case of the lack of DMC enforcement in Palisade Village.  I am particularly troubled by it because it has to do with public safety.

There are curbs on McDonald Ave, that were painted yellow in approximately 2002 to solve a problem found by the Fire Department.  I noted recently that cars have begun parking along the painted areas of the street.  I did a little research on the city website where the DMC is published, and sure enough, there is a law that prohibits parking along the yellow painted curbs:

16.03.020 Parking restrictions.

(a) Parking or standing of vehicles is hereby prohibited in any area designated by yellow painted curb with “No Parking” stenciled on the top of the curb, or by other official traffic control devices.

(b) Any violation of this section shall constitute a Class 4 civil infraction pursuant to Chapter 7.80 RCW.  (Ord. 01-696 § 2).

Now it is 6+ years later, and the yellow paint is nearly all worn away (See photo above).  In fact, cars are parked in front of the yellow curbs without any enforcement action (see photo below).

I believe the block of McDonald Ave between Bob’s Hollow Ln and Anderson Ave is the only area in all of DuPont where curbs were painted yellow.  The curbs were painted yellow after the DuPont Fire Department determined that emergency vehicles could not pass through the narrow street when cars are parked on both sides of the street.  It is a safety concern for residents that live on McDonald Ave.

We just heard from the city that fire services are our number one priority when the levy was promoted by the Mayor and City Council.  I would hope that all aspects of public safety are a priority, not just the fire dept infrastructure.  

Maybe these curb markings are no longer valid?  The streets are still very narrow and difficult to pass with cars parked on both sides of the street.

It is true that this is a narrow street which would provide a challenge to a Ford F-250 let alone a fire rig if parking was permitted on both sides of the street. You would also think that with the fire last July, and the difficulties associated with fire equipment maneuvering, that this priority would not have lapsed so conspicuously as it did. Did we really need a levy to pass to take care of the curb painting?

Like the paint on a curb, seldom do these things erode overnight. Like the case of the fire department, the curbs have been slowly chipping away while attention was paid elsewhere.  While council looks at each other wondering how they will pay for this, the citizens are left to scratch their heads and wonder just what is a priority in DuPont?
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