The City of Lubbock and neighborhoods surrounding Texas Tech are anticipating the return of the students for the Fall 2017 semester, but with return of students means difficulty finding parking in surrounding areas.
“Neighborhoods can be over run with student parking and that’s really where this ordinance was researched and then implemented to help neighborhoods to keep their neighborhoods quieter and so they can park in front of their own homes,” Sherman Owens, a City of Lubbock Traffic Engineer said.
Several signs posted around the “Tech Terrace” neighborhood enforce the rule of “resident parking only by permit rule.” Owens said this ordinance was put in place in 1998 after local neighborhoods complained of an overwhelming amount of students parking in front of their homes.
The ordinance is now enforced in eight neighborhoods around Tech and major high schools in town.
“The main reason this program was brought to certain areas of town is because there was students parking in front of home owners houses. So they wanted a way to just have them park there,” Owens said.
If you’re experiencing issues with your neighborhood and an overwhelming amount of parked cars, Owens said people are encouraged to reach out to them for help.
“If 60 percent of the residents desire resident parking, then there’s a 50 dollar application fee and then when that is done and we’ve got all the signatures verified then we will go install signs,” Owens said.
For further information on the ordinance click here.
