Council approves parking and stop-sign updates tied to Northview addition and school access

Nevada City Council members approved changes to the municipal code on Feb. 23 to reflect newly installed no-parking zones and to add stop controls on streets in and around the Northview addition and other recent subdivisions.

A council supporter described a 25½-foot-wide block on 2nd Street between S Avenue and T Avenue where parking on both sides would impede fire access and traffic; the proposal would limit parking to one side and preserve access to a fire hydrant. The same speaker identified multiple school-area locations — including the north side of J Avenue adjacent to the bus barn and the stretch of H Avenue between 9th and 10th streets — where one-sided parking improved bus maneuverability during pickup and drop-off.

The stop/yield ordinance discussion addressed controlling First Street at R Avenue and S Avenue (to protect a walking path and retention-pond crossing), adding stops where future T intersections will form as new streets (including Alpine Drive, Canyon Drive and Sequoia Drive), and formalizing existing signs such as the preexisting stop at Academy Circle and 6th Street to match the ordinance. The speaker urged placing stop signs before summer construction completes so developers can install them and reduce future cost to the streets department.

Council moved, seconded and voted to approve the ordinance language as presented. The presiding officer announced the vote as passed.

Quote: “Well, you guys know I like my signs. ... So that's why I suggested leaving no parking on the west side of that one block stretch,” the council member said while describing the first block on 2nd Street.

What’s next: Staff will update the ordinance language to match current sign locations and add the newly approved controls to the city’s traffic-control schedule.