Written submissions for public comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5th
At the August 29th Council meeting Birmingham City Council voted to delay considering proposed amendments to the City’s parking and towing ordinances following a public hearing.
Several representatives from local towing companies addressed the Council during the hearing and raised concerns over the proposed language surrounding insurance coverage in the updated ordinance. In order to get the corrected language included in the ordinance, there will be a two-week delay.
Written submissions for public comments will still be accepted until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5th; the public hearing to consider the amended parking and towing ordinances will be held on September 12th during the regularly scheduled Council meeting.
Written comments can be sent to [email protected]
The Council will be in a position to consider approving the amendments at the conclusion of the public hearing on September 12th.
The Office of the City Attorney presented the proposed changes during a Town Hall held in June. Some of the key points of the updated ordinance include, but are not limited to, increasing insurance requirements for operators; clarifying proof of payment to help drivers with dispute options; prohibiting operators from towing/booting a vehicle while a driver is paying; additional payment options — the use of mobile and web payment systems; improved requirements for signage.
In addition to modernizing the way parking is paid for by phone, the updated ordinance also gives the Birmingham Department of Transportation purview to oversee parking signage placement and regulations.
Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, chair of the Transportation Committee, said he has been encouraged by the productive conversation and feedback from members of the public throughout this process.
“There were definitely issues that were brought up that we had not heard before when we heard from residents in June. It’s really great to get these comments into the public record,” O’Quinn said. “There were multiple people who have referred to the ambiguity of the signage that refers to overnight parking. I think that’s really valuable for us to hear. I’m looking forward to this additional opportunity for people to provide feedback. I’d like to thank the Mayor’s team and our City Attorneys for their continued work and diligence on these important updates to our city code.”
