SKINNY STREETS SLOWING EMERGENCY VEHICLES

March 7, 2006
By Jeremy Desel
www.khou.com

Construction brings new residents to historic neighborhoods across Houston, but there isn't enough room for parking.

Cars parked on streets make them too skinny for fire trucks to get through.

Neighbors and firefighters said this is a dangerous problem that needs to be fixed.

Driving a regular vehicle is getting tougher in many Houston neighborhoods, but try driving a fire truck through them.

“Oh, it's gotten horrible,” said firefighter Wade Gillen. “It is almost impossible.”

Gillen has been behind the wheel of emergency vehicles for 28 years. He's watched the neighborhoods he responds to change and grow – more people, more cars, more risk.

“Everything that slows us down is taking someone's chance at life away,” Gillen said.

Someone like Merrillee or Richard Laudone.

“I think it's a huge problem,” Merrillee Laudone said. “You have to be able to get emergency vehicles down a neighborhood.”

Cars pack McKinney Street, and Tower Ladder 6 takes it slow, knowing how tight it will be.

“I don't think an ambulance could have gotten down lots of nights, let alone a fire truck,” Richard Laudone said.

The problem is like so many streets in the Midtown, Montrose, Rice Military, Third Ward areas and others, only parts of the street have no parking signs on one side.

Some were added in the last few weeks when neighbors complained to the city.

If you park in a marked neighborhood, no-parking zone, you're not just risking a ticket.

“In our business it is a race against time,” HFD Capt. Gilbert Bennett said. “Delaying that puts you in liability if it is your car that is blocking the engines.”

You could get sued if trucks are delayed.

“Normally what we end up doing is just trying to go as far down and as close as we can get,” Gillen said. “Hopefully we can get close enough.”

The Fire Department can request no-parking zones on one side of the street in tight neighborhoods, but there are so many streets with the problem that they don't often do it.

If you are concerned about the safety of your street, you should contact your civic association or city council member and make them aware of your concerns.

Parking Management is a division of the City of Houston Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department. By servicing and maintaining almost 6,000 on-street parking spaces and numerous garages across the Greater Houston area, Parking Management creates sound regulations for all commercial and residential areas enhancing pedestrian safety, ensuring a smooth flow of traffic and allowing emergency vehicles to reach their destinations. Parking Management also encourages parking awareness while supporting public transit initiatives.

For more information about Parking Management, please call 713.837.0311 or visit www.houstonparking.org.