Coolbaugh Parking Restrictions Headed Back to Council for Formal Action

Coolbaugh Parking Restrictions Headed Back to Council for Formal Action

 

 

A long-running discussion over parking restrictions on Coolbaugh Street is finally moving toward a formal vote after a lively exchange at Monday night’s Red Oak City Council meeting.

The issue centers on a short stretch of Coolbaugh (also referred to locally in discussion as the area near 8th Street toward Highland/Boundary). In 2023 the council intended to establish no-parking on the south side of that segment. The code language and signage never fully matched the original intent, leaving the situation incomplete.

Mayor Tim Fridolph explained the background in a Tuesday morning interview.

“In 2023… we had approved an ordinance addressing some of those parking issues on Coolbaugh Street from 8th Street to Highland,” Fridolph said. “The intent then… was supposed to have been from 8th Street to Highland, no parking on one side, which would be the south side… For whatever reason, things didn’t happen correctly… only 90% of the street ended up with signs. So that was a mistake. Somebody goofed up.”

City Administrator Lisa Kotter told the council she will bring a clean ordinance to the next meeting that restores the original 2023 intent: no parking on the south side from 8th to Highland.

“I’m going to draft an ordinance that has no parking on the south side from 8th to Highland,” Kotter said. “We’ve talked about it now enough that we need to have some sort of action… Based on the non-actionable discussion that took place last night, I will draft it as it was originally intended, and then the council can go from there.”

The discussion Monday night grew noticeably more intense than typical council exchanges. Council members who regularly travel the route expressed strong views about safety, traffic flow, and emergency vehicle access on the narrower block. Others questioned whether the restriction was still needed.

“People are passionate about things,” Kotter observed afterward. “Some are more affected by specific areas than others. Depending on where you live, we each travel our own routes… The heatedness sort of came from some people that have to drive the route… a lot, and then someone having an opinion that really isn’t there a lot.”

The item is scheduled for the Tuesday, September 8 council agenda (moved because of the Labor Day holiday). Residents with strong feelings are encouraged to contact council members or City Hall before the vote.

“Anybody that’s interested in the topic… highly encourage you to reach out to any of the five council members or Mayor Fridolph. You can call City Hall,” Kotter said.