City to reimpose parking limits on Friendship Park in San Luis
SAN LUIS, Ariz. — The city plans to reimpose restrictions on unattended vehicles in a public park in response to complaints that the park has become a long-term parking lot for motorists.
Friendship Park, located in the city's downtown just north of the border, will be closed nightly, meaning vehicles that haven't been reclaimed by motorists before then could be towed away.
In certain areas of the park, limits will be placed on the number of hours a car can be parked during the day.
The San Luis City Council recently approved the restrictions after police Sgt. Ernesto Lugo appeared before council members to pass along recurring complaints that residents have made to the police department.
“It's been reported that vehicles are left parked for several days, including commercial vehicles,” Lugo said. “We are asking you to allow us to go back to enforcing regulations for parking at night.”
Other complaints, he said, involve cars with California license plates being left for up to a week at a time in the park.
Located along Main Street in the city's downtown, Friendship Park has long been used for parking by shoppers who patronize the nearby businesses and people who walk across the nearby border on short visits to San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.
And city officials have no problem with short-term parking there, said Mayor Gerardo Sanchez.
“But a few people who are abusing the system are the people who ruin everything,” he said. “Clearly that is free parking for the public, but it can't be abused.”
The city previously allowed vehicles to remain parked in Friendship Park until 9 p.m., after which they could be subject to towing. Then in what was meant as only a temporary measure, the city lifted the time limit in December 2009 as part of efforts to ease a parking shortage in the downtown.
The city, however, never went back to re-enforcing the nighttime parking restriction — until now.
Lugo said park users will be notified of the new parking rules before police begin enforcing them.
