Delaware Parking and Safety Committee Meeting Summary - August 26, 2025
Delaware Parking and Safety Committee Meeting - August 26, 2025
The Parking and Safety Committee met at 6:00 p.m. on August 26, 2025, in Council Chambers at 1 South Sandusky Street. Members present were Chairman Kent Shafer, Councilwoman Frazier, and Councilman Kevin Rider. Staff included Police Chief Adam Moore, Fire Chief Tim Pyle, Public Works Director Bill Ferrigno, and Assistant City Manager Andy Bear. The committee approved the previous motion summary, heard public comment on a crosswalk petition and traffic signal concerns, endorsed signage for a new East Central Avenue parking lot, voted to forward adjustments to neighborhood no-parking zones to City Council, and received updates on e-bikes, golf carts, and street projects. The meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the Motion Summary from the June 24, 2025 Parking and Safety Committee meeting by a 3-0-0 vote (motion by Councilman Rider, second by Councilwoman Frazier).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Becky Brucato, 45 Glen Mawr Circle, spoke on behalf of neighbors in the 53-unit Landings condo complex in the Glen Ross Golf Community. She submitted a petition asking for a marked crosswalk across Cheshire Road at Glen Mawr Circle and Tara Glen Drive. She said south-side residents have no sidewalks and face unsafe walking conditions to reach north-side amenities, and that traffic and speeding make crossing Cheshire Road dangerous.
- Stanley Michnowicz, 79 Glen Mawr Circle, a Landings at Glen Ross resident, supported the petition and asked that the crosswalk include a flashing beacon. He said residents are mostly retirees, average age over 70, and that traffic commonly exceeds the 35 mph speed limit by 10-15 mph.
- Jim Keefer, 166 Hanover Court, commented that traffic signals at Central Avenue/Warrensburg Road and Wakefield Center often do not appear to trigger for traffic on the north-south approach. He also asked whether heavy-duty trucks would be permitted on the proposed Merrick Boulevard extension, saying it could be a problem if they could not.
Discussion Items
- New City Parking on East Central Avenue: Staff reported that during the full closure of Central Avenue for a construction project, city crews built a public parking lot on the city-owned parcel at the northeast corner of Central and Lake Street. The lot includes 14 spaces, a handicapped space, and motorcycle parking. Chief Moore recommended posting the lot as free public parking with city parking regulations enforced and using officer discretion on overnight parking rather than an automatic enforcement approach that could discourage impaired drivers from leaving their cars. Councilman Rider suggested making the 24-hour parking prohibition clear from the start. The committee agreed to post initial signage for free public parking, no overnight parking, enforcement of city parking regulations, marked handicapped and motorcycle spaces, and right-in/right-out movements because of the nearby intersection. Members also agreed the lot should remain free for now, with paid parking possible in the future if demand increases.
- Adjustments to No-Parking Zones in Various Neighborhoods: Public Works Director Bill Ferrigno explained that no-parking signs in sections of six subdivisions resulted from a 2018 engineering-standards change that unintentionally limited parking to one side of certain 28-foot streets. Staff, police, and fire reviewed the issue and agreed to return to parking on both sides of residential streets except in cul-de-sacs and tight radii where fire apparatus needs clearance; implementation was delayed by COVID. The draft resolution would remove restrictions on approximately 30 streets. An example in Springer Woods showed a sign placed at a property line that left only 29 feet to an intersection, shorter than the 30-foot stop-sign requirement, which restricted parking in front of a home and led to resident complaints. Staff recommended forwarding the resolution to council without mass notifications, handling any concerns case-by-case. The committee voted 3-0 to forward the resolution to City Council.
Staff Comments
- Bill Ferrigno reported completion of a new North Sandusky crossing with flashing beacons and a pedestrian bump-out in front of the courthouse; the county contributed $25,000. He also said Central Avenue was expected to reopen by the end of the following week, barring unforeseen circumstances.
- Police Chief Adam Moore said the city's code currently addresses bicycles but not e-bikes. He explained state e-bike classifications and the difficulty of enforcing them because the bikes look alike from a cruiser. Committee members raised concerns about young children riding at high speeds, sidewalk use, and reckless behavior such as wheelies. No formal action was taken, but the issue is expected to return to the committee.
- Chief Moore asked whether the committee wanted to revisit allowing golf carts on city streets. Members were generally open to continued discussion, but at least one member was not inclined to support citywide approval and viewed downtown as out of the question, while another cautioned against creating momentum toward approval.
- Fire Chief Tim Pyle reminded everyone of the upcoming fair and increased air traffic in the area.
Member Comments
- A committee member thanked staff for work around Smith Elementary School on blocked driveways, noting positive feedback from a neighbor and engagement from the new principal.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the June 24, 2025 motion summary by a 3-0-0 vote.
- The committee agreed staff should sign the East Central Avenue lot as free public parking with city regulations enforced, no overnight parking, and appropriate handicapped and motorcycle markings.
- Voted 3-0 to forward the resolution adjusting no-parking zones in various neighborhoods to City Council.
- The Cheshire Road crosswalk petition will be placed on the September 8 City Council agenda for consideration and referral back to the committee; staff information is expected to be presented at the October Parking and Safety Committee meeting.
- No formal action was taken on e-bikes or golf carts, but both topics are expected to continue in future committee discussions.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. It is 6 o'clock PM, and we will call to order the City of Delaware Parking and Safety Committee meeting for August 26, 2025. Roll call, please. Ms. Frazier? Here. Mr. Ryder. Sure. Chair Schaefer. Here. Item two is approval of the motion summary. Approval of motion summary from the parking and safety committee meeting held on June 24th, 2025, as recorded and transcribed. I move to approve the motion summary. Second. First and second. Roll call, please. Ms. Frazier? Yes. Mr. Ryder. Yes. Chair Schaefer. Yes. Item three is time set aside for public comment, and I'm assuming that some of you would like to come forward and comment tonight. So the procedures are when you come up, turn the microphone on, there's a big button right in front of it. Give us your name and address for the record, and everybody gets three minutes. So whoever wants to come first, come on up. Well, definitely tell you. There you go. My name is Becky Brocado. I reside at 45 Glenmarr Circle Delaware, which is in the landings condominium complex, part of the Glen Ross golf community. You're good. Um I'm here on behalf of many of my neighbors. Um I sent an email with a petition, and I have copies of it here for people who did not get those, and I'll leave them and you can look at it later. Has many signatures of our residents. We're a 53-unit condo complex, part of Glen Ross Golf Community, located on the south side of Cheshire Road. Uh Poulty continued to expand this area as you all well know. And now there's over a thousand homes in the Glen Ross Golf community. The amenities that the Poulty uh Corporation developed are all on the north side of Cheshire. The pool, the lake, the parks, the walking trails, uh, the playgrounds. And the residents of the landings are part of this association, and our dues are fifty-two thousand dollars a year that give us access to these wonderful amenities. However, our access is very limited because we're on the wrong side of Cheshire. The south side of Cheshire Road has no sidewalks, none where we live. To get to the existing crosswalks that are available at Eagle Walk and Glen Ross Parkway, we have to walk through culverts along guardrails and everything else, a lumpy ground, which is unsafe. Many of our residents are retired. We try to stay active, we try to walk every day. We're requesting a clearly marked pedestrian crossway from Glenmar Circle to Terra Glen, which is across Cheshire there. It is extremely dangerous crossing Cheshire.
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