Knox City Council members held the first reading over the amended ordinance regulating obstruction of sidewalks, streets and railroad crossings for the City of Knox when they met Wednesday evening. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston mentioned that the ordinance was created by taking their existing sidewalk obstruction ordinance and combining it with additional specifications that are addressed in state statute.
The majority of feed back from council members was specifically about the section regarding placement of vehicles. Certain members were seeking clarification about the section which indicates that vehicles cannot be within fifty feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.
Clerk-Treasurer Houston said that was one of the rules borrowed from state statute. Mayor Dennis Estok added that he checked an area of concern, the Dollar Store on Main Street, and found that the parking spots on both sides of the tracks are farther than 50 feet.
Council President Don Kring brought up the idea of potentially installing signage in spots where consistent issues may arise. However, Mayor Estok stated that he would like to see if the ordinance is effective before they do anything like that. Clerk-Treasurer Houston added that the code-enforcement officer and police would be able to issue warnings to people indicating that they’re parked too close to the tracks before they’re found to be in violation of the ordinance.
No additional comments were made regarding the ordinance. The first reading received unanimous council approval from all members in attendance. The second reading will be held at the next city council meeting on January 9th.
Click the following link to view the full-version of the Ordinance to Eliminate Obstructions
