Old Habits are Hard to Break

As if talking about cigarette butts along the roadside in the last issue of Old North News wasn't enough, I want to talk about another street-related item: parking. Driveways are an option in Old North Knoxville. That means many of us park on the streets in front of our homes. 

Recently the police have handed out tickets for parking the wrong way on the streets, and for parking up on the curbs and sidewalks. There has been some grumbling and even letter writing to the police department over this. Certainly understandable, at least in light of other law and order concerns of ONK residents.

But let me suggest that while parking the correct way and in the right direction can be irritating, it is not only the legal thing to do, it is the necessary one. 

Also, the weight of vehicles destroys curbs. Four thousand-plus pounds repeatedly placed on the stone curbs break them down, and parking on the sidewalks or the strips of grass between the curb and the sidewalk destroy the sidewalks and the grass. According to city estimates, the cost to repair the sidewalk and curb in front of a house with 50-foot wide lot would approximately $1700. For a 90-foot wide "double lot," it would be over $3000. That's your tax dollars and mine going for something we can prevent.

Sidewalks are an asset, like the First Creek Greenway or any of our historic homes, and we should all take care of them. We in ONK are fortunate to have them. Most neighborhoods in Knoxville don't. Sidewalks add value not only to the neighborhood but also to each home. Unfortunately, once they are damaged it can take years before the city comes out and repairs the sidewalk or curb. 

Parking with the flow of traffic means cars pulling away from the curb will be moving in the same direction as the traffic and not against it. This makes driving safer and easier for all of us. 

It can be a bother to park the right way. I have to do it. In the morning when I leave I am always heading in the opposite direction of my work, and when I come back from Knoxville Centre, Kroger, or the Post Office, I drive an extra couple of blocks to park in the right direction. 

Still, parking beside the curb and not on it or the sidewalk, and parking with the flow of traffic keeps our sidewalks and curbs free for walkers and makes our streets safer to drive on. It also allows the police to focus on other issues that are harder to correct, such as prostitution and burglaries and even drunk drivers. By doing our part we help the police do theirs, and both parts make our neighborhood a nicer and safer place to live.