A state employee jumped the gun last week when she told the Haines Borough a solution had been reached in the ongoing issue of residents parallel parking in the state’s right-of-way toward the end of Mud Bay Road.
Manager Bill Seward canceled a July 29 town hall meeting on the subject when Department of Transportation right-of-way agent Joanne Schmidt told Seward she had developed a “manageable solution” after exchanging calls and emails with across-the-bay residents.
“(The residents) had gone out to the site and took a series of measurements from the edge of pavement toward the cliff side, and found that there were numerous spots in which they could clear brush and create small parking areas that were at least eight feet from the edge of pavement,” Schmidt said.
Residents who live in the borough subdivision across the bay parallel park their vehicles alongside the road and cross the bay to reach their homes. DOT says the vehicles sit in the state’s right-of-way and present a safety hazard.
Schmidt told Seward that DOT agreed the brush-cutting proposal was “a manageable solution at this time and would alleviate the immediate roadside safety issue if the parking areas are selected and developed properly.”
Schmidt said if residents wanted to proceed with this plan, she would issue a special use permit for the residents to perform the work in the right-of-way.
This week, DOT spokesperson Jeremy Woodrow said Schmidt’s approval of the plan was “premature” and that she communicated the approval before running the plan by her boss, the state’s right-of-way chief.
“That is something we are entertaining, but have not given a firm answer,” Woodrow said.
Across-the-bay resident Melina Shields said the situation has been confusing. “We thought it was all resolved for a second, and now we are regrouping and trying to figure out what is next,” Shields said.
Wrangling all the residents together during the busy summer has been difficult, Shields said, but the group wants to identify the simplest and least expensive option.
“I think everyone wants the simplest solution. we’re just not exactly sure what that is and we’ve gotten a couple of different answers,” Shields said.
DOT would rather not issue special use permits to individuals, specifically individuals whose property doesn’t even border the state road, Woodrow said.
Without a larger, more organized entity like a homeowners’ association, details of the permit would get sticky: Who would pay the annual fee associated with it? Who would be responsible for making sure the cut brush parking areas are maintained?
“We would prefer the borough to be the permit holder as opposed to a private property owner,” Woodrow said. “Since there isn’t a homeowners’ association out there, there really isn’t an entity out there that could undertake that kind of permit.”
If the proposal is eventually approved, it would still only represent an interim solution, Woodrow said. The state would still like to see a parking area well off the right-of-way, Woodrow said.
“That would be the department’s preferred solution, but we understand that is easier said than done, which is why we are willing to entertain a temporary solution, even if it is a long-term temporary solution. We would still like to get to a permanent parking area,” he said.