April 16, 2018

Dear Residents:

 

Last year, as I reported at our Annual Meeting in February, our members gave us a clear message. They were frustrated and tired of dealing with all the vehicular traffic parked on our narrow streets. A solution to that problem became a major goal of your Association.  Over the last fifteen months, considerable effort has been expended on this project. 

 

Seeking a simple, legal, and easily enforceable solution, we researched regulations in other similar communities. After carefully studying a variety of alternatives, we concluded the best and most viable solution was a ban on the parking of commercial vehicles on our streets. Specific exceptions will be made for moving vans, package deliveries, and construction traffic, which is subject to its own set of rules, and will require permitting through the City to ensure that deliveries are managed with minimize disruption.

 

While the amount of vehicular traffic on our streets on any given day is quite significant, we’ve found that the largest daily contributor to street congestion turns out to be landscape maintenance vehicles. Specifically, the overall size of the trucks and trailers used for landscape maintenance has grown ever larger over the years, principally because there was no effort to restrain it. We recognize that restoring order to our streets will require some sacrifice from all involved parties. Not only we, as residents, will have to adjust but our landscape maintenance people will have to adjust as well.  In discussions with a number of maintenance companies, we learned that they acknowledge that some modifications will have to be made and have simply asked that the change-over be phased in so they can adapt more easily.  Each of us, in turn, will have to work with our maintenance crews to find suitable solutions to allow them to park on our properties. Once everyone adjusts to this change, the results will be significant – better travel of our streets, improved safety for pedestrians and bikers, and seamless navigability for our Emergency First Responders.

 

Clearing up our streets is a fully achievable goal but it will require cooperation from the City to create a proper, enforceable ordinance.  The first step to achieving this is to demonstrate to the City that a clear majority of Port Royal residents support this ordinance. Initially, we centered our attention on Galleon Drive since these particular residents, as a whole, had expressed frustration and concern, and participated in our initial study. Polling by the Association shows member support five to one in favor of an ordinance to ban commercial parking.

 

We are now expanding the polling to the rest of Port Royal.  Participation in this poll is critical so that we can demonstrate to the City that a majority of residents support this initiative. The stronger our numbers, the better the chance of getting our ordinance approved.

 

We are hosting three informational meetings at the Port Royal Club’s Flamingo Room during the last week of April to allow all residents an opportunity to ask questions and better understand the positive impact this will have on our community. We will then conduct a poll to determine the neighborhood wide support for this initiative. With majority support, the Association can take this initiative to the City and guide it through the approval process.

 

Please sign-up for one of the following informational sessions by emailing or calling the office (jheiderman@portroyalpoa.com or 239-261-6472). If you cannot attend the meeting but would like to learn more, please inquire with our staff. We look forward to your participation and support of this initiative, which will ultimately restore the quality of life in our beautiful neighborhood.

 
Sincerely,

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Andy Deane

President