How to prevent parking tickets

All of the time limit signs for the free parking zones (2 hour, 4 hour, etc) say “vehicle must leave block when time expires.” Such as 2nd street east of E; E street south of Sonoma. Is it considered leaving the block if one switches sides of the street? — Arielle

Kim Nadeau, Santa Rosa’s parking programs coordinator, explains the fine points: “Leaving the block means you must actually move to another block.  If you switch sides of the street, you are still on the same block.  If you are on Second Street, you may move up or down a full city block.  A note:  Once your time limit expires, you must move to another block for the remainder of the day.”

Crime scene paint

I drive on Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Drive east of Mission Blvd. most  every day, and for the past several weeks, I’ve seen the red painted marks on the road and shoulder where a pedestrian was fatally hit recently.  How long should  we have to see these marks?  It seems like the Police could use a marker that could be removed soon after they are through with it, rather than the seemingly permanent (red) paint.

Also with respect to that location of about 1 mile of Montgomery Drive from Mission Blvd to the Spring Lake Dam, why couldn’t there be signs warning pedestrians and bicyclists that that portion of the road is too narrow for safe passage?  It’s not lost on me that it was an out-of-towner who was struck and killed there where it is too narrow for safe passage – most locals know better than to be there. — Russ

The police use the same kind of permanent paint used by construction road marking crews and never go back to remove it. “To do so would require painting over it,” said Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Mike Numainville. Officers need it to remain at the crime scene until their investigation is over, which can take anywhere from a week to a month.

Help crossing Yulupa Avenue

Tina wrote last week with a question about a close call she witnessed when a pedestrian tried to cross four lanes of traffic at Yulupa Avenue and Princeton Drive in Santa Rosa, just past the shopping center where Whole Foods and Petco are located. She asked: Why isn’t there a flashing sign to indicate someone crossing there, especially since it is in front of a shopping center and there are several other crosswalks with flashing pedestrian signs in that area?

Santa Rosa Traffic Engineer Rob Sprinkle said his office is already working on a fix for that heavily traveled stretch. For crosswalks with flashing lights, he said, “We look at several factors including use, vehicle volume, nearby infrastructure (signals) and striping.  At that location, we are working on a project to reduce the four lane road to three lanes, like we did on Sonoma Avenue between Santa Rosa Avenue and Farmers Lane.”

Slowing traffic along Hoen Avenue

I am writing because of an unfortunate incident on upper Hoen Ave. tonight (4800 block). A pedestrian was struck by a speeding car and taken away in an ambulance. The impact knocked her out of her tennis shoes. The accident occurred in front of a home where there are two small children. Next door to them, another small child. Next door to that home, two children under 6. And I live next door to that home with my twin 6-year old boys. Seven kids within a 100 yard stretch of road. We all fear for the safety of our families.

The officers and fire dept have now left the scene, and as I write this message, I’m watching cars fly by my house once again at 40-50mph (in a 25 zone). As horrible as this incident is, I hope that it will serve as a wake up call that our block is in dire need of traffic enforcement. A patrol officer every so often, a radar trailer, speed bumps… heck even a mph sign would be better than nothing (there are none). My family and neighbors have submitted numerous complaints in recent weeks and months and there has been no response from the police department. We are all praying that our neighbor recovers fully from this accident, and that something can/will be done to prevent further tragedies. — Lisa

Santa Rosa police were already aware of the problem along  Hoen Avenue, and an officer had already been assigned to investigate. Says Sgt. Mike Numainville, who also heads the department’s Traffic Unit, “We are going to be stepping up enforcement out there.”

Got a question? Send it Attn: Road Warrior to linda.castrone@pressdemocrat.com.

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