OPINION | Proposed parking ordinance highlights lakefront’s confusing and cluttered signage crisis

Ordinance 25-03 would make situation worse

Editorial

Councilman at Large Scott Discon’s proposed Ordinance 25-03, which seeks to rewrite Section 10-70 of the city’s code of ordinances to prohibit parking between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. along Lakeshore Drive and other places, may have exposed a much bigger problem, at least when it comes to parking restrictions and signage in general on Lakeshore Drive.

Existing signs say parking already restricted on Lakeshore Drive

There are over 40 signs along the 1.5-mile stretch of Lakeshore Drive (not including speed limit, historical markers, and pet waste disposal signs), among which are at least a dozen no-parking signs that appear to contradict even the existing law at Section 10-70, which only prohibits parking for more than six hours.

According to current signage on Lakeshore Drive, parking is either prohibited from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., completely prohibited around the clock, or not prohibited at all. And these no-parking signs have been there for years, dating back from before any of the current council members or mayor.

Although it’s challenging to discern where one parking zone ends and another starts, the casual observer would have to conclude that some form of nighttime parking is already illegal on at least half to three-quarters of Lakeshore Drive.

Where did all the no-parking and other signs come from?

Mandeville Daily couldn’t find in the city code of ordinances where the Lakeshore Drive no-parking zones are codified. The only places that even come close are sections 10-70, 10-72, and 10-73 which prohibit parking longer than six hours, “sleeping overnight,” and parking in medians, respectively.

However, under Louisiana law, infractions related to parking signs can be cited. La. R.S. § 32:143(14) says that parking is prohibited “at any place where official signs prohibit such.” And we do seem to have plenty of signs along Lakeshore Drive that do indeed prohibit such.

This means that according to state law you already can be cited if you are parked across from “The Barley Oak” or “Donz on the Lake” starting at 2 a.m. And if you park your car to work out at 5:15 a.m., again, you could be cited. That’s what the signs say.

But the real question is, who had the signs along Lakeshore Drive erected in the first place?

Public Works Director Keith LaGrange has stated at multiple City Council meetings that Public Works can’t erect no-parking signs without council approval.

LaGrange may have been referring to Section 10-64 “Regulations at Specific Locations” which says “the mayor and councilmen” as a body can “restrict” parking “from time to time” (as needed) at various locations.

What’s more, LaGrange said at the July 27th, 2023, City Council meeting that his department couldn’t find a record or ordinance for one particular no-parking sign on Claiborne Street, a block from the lakefront.

Another one of Mandeville’s little unsolved sign mysteries.

Recent encounters further highlight need for action

Just recently we had mysterious no-parking and no-dumping signs appear along historic Marigny Avenue and West Beach Parkway, to which Mayor Clay Madden told Mandeville Daily that he did not order those particular signs and he either had, or is having, them removed.

Local residents are becoming so frustrated with the sign litter, an as-yet-unidentified vandal defaced a few of those no-dumping signs on West Beach Parkway. Longtime residents on Marigny Avenue claimed in December to have had encounters with Mr. Discon or other city officials over activities banned by the now-removed no-dumping and no-parking signs.

Mandeville Daily asked Mr. Discon about the alleged confrontations and if he had ordered the signs erected to which we received the following reply, along with forwarded responses from City Attorney Elizabeth Sconzert and another lawyer from the Blue Williams Law Firm:

“Please see the attached and remember there is No Parking and /or Littering on Public thoroughfares in the City of Mandeville. Public Works put the signs out; I only suggested aa (sic) reduction in the number of signs and placement to work with the residents of both of Mandeville’s historic avenues,” Mr. Discon wrote in part.

The “attached” essentially provided a legal rationale from Blue Williams explaining why littering and dumping leaves are unlawful and that the city doesn’t need permits to install signs.

Death by a thousand cuts… or signs

Is this simply a situation where elected officials have ordered, requested, or “suggested” certain signs at various locations in order to address pet-peeve code violations, or perhaps to appease complaints from “Karen” constituents, and then the Public Works Department felt compelled to comply?

Some sources are telling Mandeville Daily that’s exactly what’s been going on in Mandeville for decades, from before the current City Council and mayor, and no one has really noticed the broader problem it has created — sign litter or sign creep — until now.

They say that Section 10-70 (no parking longer than six hours) originated in either 1979 or 1985, probably to keep residents of Lakeshore Drive at the time from using public parking spaces adjacent to or across from their homes as their own personal parking.

But how we transitioned from the initial six-hour prohibition to the dozen or so signs with varying parking periods remains a mystery. It was probably driven by the best intentions, but has resulted in a bunch of signs that don’t match what’s on the books, and on face value seem quite onerous.

And the fact remains: these signs are definitely enforceable, should officials choose to do so.

Creates more problems than it solves

Proposed Ordinance 25-03 would only cause more chaos and add new parties to the list of the offended, i.e. Woodrow and General Pershing streets.

What about the St. Tammany Parish School System buses that park on Woodrow Street?

The preamble of Ordinance 25-03 mentions a “hardship” faced by the Mandeville Police Department in enforcing the “in excess of six (6) hours” rule as one of the factors prompting the proposed modifications.

But the no-parking signs all along Lakeshore Drive already negate the six-hour rule, giving authorities the ability to write tickets for parked cars between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. today, right now, without this proposed ordinance.

Wouldn’t it create a far greater burden on the Mandeville Police Department to have to track which vehicles along Woodrow or General Pershing streets belong to residents of the local apartments and hence exempt as stated in Ordinance 25-03?

Wouldn’t the city have to issue parking permits to accomplish this?

I would find it hard to believe that it’s the Mandeville Police Department who is clamoring for this ordinance. If not, then who is? Who would stand to benefit?

Council needs to overhaul Old Mandeville signage strategy and process

The signage situation in Old Mandeville can hardly tolerate a partial or half measure like Ordinance 25-03 at this point. And we certainly don’t need anymore citizens reporting that they’ve been video-recorded by officials for blowing leaves and then reported to a council member… allegedly.

The City Council needs to ask itself: what are we so afraid of with all the signage? And then do something about it.

So what, that a car is parked overnight because the driver didn’t want to risk driving home from Donz?

Is it really a problem if someone comes to work out on the lakefront at 5 a.m. instead of waiting until six?

And what is so terrible about a few conscientious homeowners on Marigny Avenue or West Beach Parkway raking leaves on the medians?

Do we really want to make otherwise responsible, law-abiding citizens feel like criminals just for doing the right thing?

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