One ordinance aimed largely at business contractors, City Manager Norb Klopsch said, would amend a section of the city’s code by prohibiting “placing snow or debris on paved streets and public right of ways.”
Klopsch said "keeping a sidewalk clear is already covered in our ordinances. But prior to this it wasn’t clear that contractors couldn’t put debris outside of the paved area of the right-of-way.
“It just makes it clear that nobody can put any sort of debris in any of the right-of-way with the exception for property owners placing green waste there” for the city’s monthly pickups.
A second measure would create a “visibility hazards” chapter to city guidelines focusing on intersections in the largely residential suburb, Klopsch said.
The goal of the visibility hazards ordinance is “ensuring that sightlines along public rights-of-way are preserved and maintained free from obstruction, so as to promote the safe and orderly flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic; to reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries,” according to proposal.
Both ordinances came before Oakwood City Council Monday night and are expected to be voted on next month, Klopsch said.
At some Oakwood intersections – often times at stop signs or stop lights – corner lots may have significant landscaping in the front or side yards, restricting sight lines, he added.
“It can impede your visibility in terms of seeing approaching cars coming….And that creates a safety hazard,” Klopsch added,
The change would “streamline the process for addressing those sight visibility issues,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of them. But we do have some from time to time.”
The proposal calls for the city engineer to use other safety measures – including advanced warning signs or flashers - if “appropriate intersection sight distance cannot be attained.”
If the issue requires action on private property, the city would provide written notice to the property owner, according to the proposal.
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