Allied Gardens residents address parking problem

People who park on streets near Kaiser Hospital/Medical Center on Zion Avenue may find "a friendly reminder" from District 7 city councilman Scott Sherman on their vehicles.

A packet containing the reminder (printed on yellow cardstock), a vehicle-tracker spreadsheet, and a parking fact sheet was distributed at the February 25 Allied Gardens Community Council meeting. The forum focused on the issue of Kaiser-bound people parking on streets, including Crawford Street and Archwood and Rainier avenues.

Sherman's reminder advised the recipient "to be aware" about parking "in a residential neighborhood. Please be courteous to the neighbors…by not speeding, blocking driveways, or littering. If you are visiting Kaiser Permanente, please be aware that there is ample FREE parking on-site or through their FREE valet parking service."

Kaiser employees, nursing students, and "contracted" employees (like construction workers) were advised to "please refer to your employee manual on appropriate parking locations."

About 40 people attended the meeting, a follow-up to the November 26 council forum where 200 residents heard a presentation about forming a residential permit-parking district.

The permit process starts with a petition drive in the affected area. If approved by the city council, a household could purchase four permits, each priced at $14 annually. No Kaiser representative attended that meeting, and just one resident supported a district.

Earlier this year, residents discussed parking concerns with Sherman and a Kaiser representative.

That led to the information presented at the February 25 meeting attended by Sherman and Tanah Lorah, Kaiser community and government relations manager.

As Barrett Tetlow, Sherman's chief of staff, began speaking about solutions, a man wearing black-frame glasses asked how many times permits would be brought up. "Like Chicago, [you] keep checking the ballots until you win."

(After the meeting, the man was asked his name. He declined, saying,"I don't want hate emails, but you can quote me.")

Sherman asked if anyone was interested in a permit program; no one raise raised a hand.

He described packet items as a "starter solution."

The spreadsheet designed for a "resident reporter" is used to track details such as vehicle description and the date, time, and frequency that a vehicle is parked on the street. The "resident reporter" was advised to email copies of the form to Sherman's office, Lorah, and Kaiser security. A woman named Barbara said she sent six photographs with her log.

Lorah said that although it was legal for people to park on public streets, that her company was reminding employees and contractors about parking policies.

She said Kaiser listened to residents' concerns. "A new one is people dressing in the street."

Lorah advised people to call the police when they observe an illegal activity. She said Kaiser would open a new hospital in Kearny Mesa in 2017, and the reduction in beds would reduce staffing levels and visitor traffic.