BelmontNA announces new Resident Parking Only zones

 
RPO Dedication Ceremony - January 12, 2008

Update January 12, 2008 - Dallas City Council Representative Angela Hunt helped dedicate the new Resident Parking Only zones on the 5800 blocks of Prospect and Oram Streets.

Click on the photo to see the video, click here to read BelmontNA's statement to the media and neighborhood.

January 8, 2008 - The Belmont Neighborhood Association announces the installation of two new Resident Parking Only zones within its boundaries in the Lower Greenville area.

The signs for two new RPO zones - on the 5800 block of Prospect Avenue and the 5800 block of Oram Street - were installed earlier this week by the City of Dallas' Public Works & Transportation Department.

Both streets are located one block east of Greenville Avenue. The RPO restrictions are in force from 9pm to 6am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Enforcement begins this weekend.

As of July 2008, eleven of the City's 18 RPO zones are located within walking distance of Lower Greenville (south of Belmont). (see complete list here). 5600 Vickery Blvd is a few blocks north of Lower Greenville and is not illustrated on this map.

 
New RPO sign, 5800 block of Prospect Avenue

Petitions for RPO on three streets were submitted to the City of Dallas in November 2007. More than 70% of the residents and/or property owners signed petitions requesting RPO protection on their streets.

After reviewing the petitions, City staff conducted a survey of the cars parked on the street. After determining that a majority of the parking spaces were being used by non-residents, two petitions were approved.

The third street did not pass the City's survey, but is expected to pass the test within the next 30 days. Other streets in the area will be petitioned for RPO as parking patterns shift.

Resident Parking Only is permitted by an ordinance approved by the City Council in 1998. There are strict and specific requirements that must be met before the RPO zone is approved, and all expenses are the responsibility of the residents.

The BelmontNA will pay all RPO expenses for any street within its boundaries if a majority of residents on that street sign the petition. The association will also reimburse each resident who signs the petition for at least two hangtags for the first year.

A summary of the RPO requirements can be found at this link.

The BelmontNA worked with several residents on these streets to conduct property surveys, collect signatures on the petitions and work with City Staff to make sure all the documents were correct and approved.

Click here to see the RPO story on CBS11, Wednesday evening

Click here to read an article about RPO in the Dallas Voice

Click here to see the RPO story on News8, Thursday evening

The BelmontNA paid all RPO expenses, using money raised by the sale of the Arcadia Theatre sign in March 2007. In addition to petition fees, the association paid for ten new RPO signs and reimbursed each resident or property who signed the petition for at least two hangtags for the first year.

The association paid more than $1,000 for RPO on these streets.

The City will also install large green signs on the perimeter of the BelmontNA neighborhood, telling visitors they are entering a Resident Parking Only area and to pay attention to the signs (there are similar signs on the west side of Greenville Avenue).

The BelmontNA - and the residents who signed the petitions - do not see RPO as a statement against Lower Greenville' businesses. Rather, we demand respect for our neighbors, our property, and most of all, peace and quiet on our streets on the nights when nearly 7,000 people descend upon the so-called 'entertainment district' on Lower Greenville.

Lower Greenville businesses are unable or unwilling to provide enough parking for their patrons. The City is unwilling or unable to force them to provide the required 'free and clear parking spaces' required by their Certificates of Occupancy. At the same time, these businesses have no problem charging exhorbitant fees for so-called 'valet parking' spaces just 15 feet from their doors.

Our neighbors are tired of the noise, the trash, and the unruly behavior of bar patrons waking us up at 2am simply because of a lack of dedicated patron parking spaces around Lower Greenville.

As one neighbor tells us:

My wife and I worked our butts off to buy our home near Lower Greenville. We put in lots of overtime and weekends to make it happen. We wanted to live near the restaurants and bars, so that if we went out and partied, we could just walk home without any problems.

But we absolutely did not buy our $350,000 home so some 25-year-old punk from Plano could come down to Lower Greenville, park in front of our house, drop his empty beer bottles on our curb, and then come back at 2am to use our lawn as his personal toilet.

Instead, we focus our attention - and our resources - to protecting our quality of life. We will continue to use the City's Resident Parking Only ordinance to prevent non-residents from parking on our streets.

Media contact
Avi S. Adelman, Vice-President, BelmontNA
Telephone 214-824-5771, email Avi@BelmontNA.org

Dallas City Hall - Resident Parking Only
Kerry Elder, Telephone 214-670-4020