HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated October 24, 2017 ITEM# 12
DATE: 10/24/17
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: PARKING REQUEST FROM UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AT
NEW OFFICE (119 STANTON AVENUE)
BACKGROUND:
The Ames Post Master, Todd Oxley, contacted staff requesting a change to the metered
parking stalls located in front of their new United States Post Office at 119 Stanton
Avenue. The United States Post Service (USPS) recently sold their property at 210
Welch Avenue to Kum & Go. The new location at Stanton Avenue does not have
any designated customer parking. Therefore, Mr. Oxley is requesting to change
the three metered stalls to two "15-Minute" parking stalls and one "Loading
Zone" stall.
The Campustown Action Association (CAA) was contacted to make sure that this
change did not adversely affect other Campustown businesses. In the attached letter,
the CAA has expressed their support of the proposed changes. Citing the importance of
having a USPS branch located in Campustown will likely outweigh any concerns related
to the loss-of three metered stalls. It should be noted that these three metered stalls
have some of the lowest utilization of any meters in Campustown.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Direct Staff to make the appropriate revisions to the Official Parking Meter Map,
thereby changing the stalls along Stanton Avenue two "15-Minute" parking stalls
and one "Loading Zone" stall.
2. Direct staff to work with the USPS to find other solutions to their parking issue.
CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION:
The USPS provides a vital service for residents and businesses alike in the
Campustown area. The requested change will create more efficient and effective use of
parking for customers of the Post Office.
Therefore, the City Manager recommends that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1,
as noted above.
I _ ('09 5 CD
Attachment 1
Todd D. Oxley
POSTMASTER
AMES POST OFFICE
U0WEDST/1TES
POSTAL.SERVKE
September 18, 2017
Damion Pregitzer
Traffic.Engineer, City of Ames
515 Clark AVE
Ames, IA 50010-6122
This letter is a follow up to an earlier email question and our conversation regarding the parking on
the 100 block of Stanton AVE. I am requesting to'change the three metered, parallel parking spaces
in front of 119 Stanton AVE (west side of street),from their paid parking to a"15 minute only parking"
status.
As you know, our current retail Postal Station on Welch AVE will be moving to this new location in
mid-October. After a lengthy search, this location was the best fit for our needs, and our desire to
maintain a presence in the campus town area. After announcing this change, several current
customers of the Welch AVE Station have expressed concern with the.lack of parking on Stanton
AVE. I have to agree.
Current parking meters allow customers to get up to.2 hours of parking at these spaces, and with only
three spaces available, this makes it very difficult for our customers to stop in and retrieve their PO
Box mail, or mail packages. We also-will have to get mail into and out of this building, multiple times
each day. The building has no loading dock or any off-street loading area for this purpose. There
seems to already bean issue with delivery trucks having to unload while actually in the southbound
traffic lane of Stanton AVE. Just since our renovations began at this location_I have,seen.numerous
freight and delivery trucks parked on the street, with hazard'lights on, unloading freight and packages
to the residents and business in the area. I don't want our trucks to contribute to this current problem.
In fact;the best solution.for this would be to designate the northern most parking space as a"Loading
Zone"while have the two south spaces as 15 minute parking only." This should keep our drivers
safe, while also not contributing to an already congested area. It would also prevent ISU students
from parking in these spaces while going to class on campus.
Please consider this request to improve the parking convenience and safety on Stanton AVE once the
"Cyclone Station" Post Office opens there in Mid-October.
Thank you for your consideration;
Sincerely
IA L
Todd Oxley/
t
525 KELLOGG AVE
AMES IA 50010-9998
(515)232-0120
FAX:.(515)232-9723
Attachment 2
rrstn Campustown Action Association
action 119 Stanton Ave, Suite 602
` yCjtg Ames, IA 50014
Honorable Mayor Ann Campbell and Members of the Ames City Council,
We are writing to you today in regards to the United States Post Office parking request at their new location
on Stanton Avenue.The CAA board feels this is a very reasonable request.There are only 3 parking spots
affected,and while there may be a few who will always complain about the removal of any parking in
Campustown,we feel it will be short-lived,as well as vastly outweighed by the convenience of having a local
USPS branch.Those of us who live and work in the Campustown district are thrilled that they have found a
location and will be able to stay in the neighborhood.We are in support of granting their request to have the
3 metered parking spots in front of 119 Stanton changed to 15 minutes.
As always thank you for your time,
Ka-" ,044- q C �/
Kathy Dubansky Karin Chitty
President Executive Director
Attachment 3: Map of Stanton Avenue Parking Stalls
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