By Lizzie Stone, city council reporter
Seeking to address concerns about private towing companies, the council on Tuesday established an advisory board as a first step. Council members also moved toward revamping the way the city tracks and implements traffic safety measures in neighborhoods, such as building speed bumps or installing stop signs.
Both the effort to regulate private towing companies and more fairly apply traffic calming measures are in their infancy.
The new private towing advisory board will make recommendations to city leaders about regulations, standard towing rates, and other issues.
Several council members said some private towing companies operate 24/7 but only release cars back to their owners during specific hours. Mayor Deanna Reed said she has heard complaints about long waiting times from city visitors whose cars were towed when they needed to leave.
Sgt. Wayne Westfall of the Harrisonburg Police said state laws regulate towing companies, but they are limited. The advisory board will help the council effectively address local concerns.
Public works officials are also working on an updated process for their neighborhood traffic calming program. The program allows residents to report concerns with traffic conditions on neighborhood streets so the city can address problems.
Council members said many people have complained about how long it takes for solutions.
The current timeline for traffic calming can vary. Officials plan to evaluate streets at the same time so they can be prioritized based on need.
The new program will also have a point-based system that uses many factors to assess need, with the speed and volume of traffic allotted the most points.
“Make it a more objective process so it’s not a matter of which neighborhood yells the loudest,” council member Laura Dent said.
Public works officials will continue to gather feedback from city residents before making their final proposal to the council. They plan to hold a public meeting to hear from residents later this spring.
- Utility rates will increase, but public utilities officials say the long-term increase is less than originally projected. Water rates will increase by 5% next year, while sewer rates will increase by 2.25%. This is projected to be the largest increase until 2032. Public utilities director Mike Collins said increases are necessary because of operating costs, but rates are kept as low as possible while planning maintenance and improvements.
Thanks for reading The Citizen, which won the Virginia Press Association’s 2022 News Sweepstakes award as the top online news site in Virginia. We’re independent. We’re local. We pay our contributors, and the money you give goes directly to the reporting. No overhead. No printing costs. Just facts, stories and context. We value your support.
