Even though it is illegal to double park on Kirkwood Avenue, the City has seen more people doing so. (Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)
Parking for delivery drivers on Kirkwood Avenue has become more of a challenge recently. And the City of Bloomington doesn’t have a clear solution.
Double parking there has become more common since more people started getting food deliveries during the pandemic.
“The emergence of third-party meal delivery services on top of traditional in-house delivery restaurant services on top of Uber and Lyft and all the other commercial vendors that are out there, this does become problematic,” said Michelle Wahl, parking services director for the City. “It is a curb management issue.”
Wahl often gets two to three reports each week of cars illegally parking on Kirkwood in the evenings.
“Oftentimes, we can't get there fast enough when we get the calls,” she said. “Our top priority is safety. So, if it's unsafe, then unfortunately, that is the first violation we will hand out.”
Shayne Laughter has been making deliveries for DoorDash in town since last year. It’s been a struggle for her to find parking spots on Kirkwood to get her deliveries. If available, she pulls into alleys in between restaurants that have loading and unloading zones. But on days when there is a sports game, like when the IU men’s basketball team played Maryland, parking is impossible.
“I gave up three orders that I was assigned to pick up on Kirkwood from businesses, and I always gave the reason, ‘there's no parking. The traffic's too thick. It's game day, you know?,’” Laughter said. “There's just no way to do it. And so that was income I gave up because I couldn't find parking.”
Door Dash doesn’t cover traffic citations. Laughter usually avoids double parking and tries to park in the alleys when possible. Anyone can park in the alleys for up to 30 minutes.
“There are some alleys I pull into and put on the hazard lights, and then just run in, get the food and run back,” she said. But I'm not willing to obstruct traffic on a busy day. I know that that's dangerous for everyone.”
An employee from Noodles and Company on Kirkwood said they do not have designated spots for delivery drivers.
“They park right in front and put on their hazards and run in to get the delivery and run back out quickly,” they said.
Wahl said the City is planning to begin a parking study in the next two months to evaluate how to improve parking for citizens and delivery drivers. The study is expected to last approximately 19 months.
“The recommendations we get from our parking study will help us give them options,” she said. “At this time, I would suggest, don't illegally park. Don't park in an ADA and if you do park in a meter, feed the meter, don't leave your car in a traffic lane.”
Wahl wouldn’t specifically say whether there are enough parking spaces for delivery drivers in the Kirkwood area.
“I think there's enough parking spaces on Kirkwood right now,” Wahl said. “Again, with the emergence of the third-party meal delivery services and the traditional, they are competing at this point. But the only thing I can say is that we're doing our best to get out there and make sure that people are moving and having the traffic move.”
This summer, Kirkwood will be closed to cars for the city’s annual Outdoor Dining Program, limiting parking even more. Laughter said parking a few blocks away and walking isn’t a feasible option for her. Door Dash calculates how long each delivery should take, assuming reasonable travel times and traffic. The driver has a 15-minute grace period, but if a delivery severely exceeds this estimate, the driver may receive a lateness-based violation. If a driver accumulates too many violations, the account will be deactivated.
Read more: Kirkwood Avenue to close for annual Outdoor Dining Program
Will closing Kirkwood ultimately create fewer problems or more problems with delivery drivers finding parking?
“One of the goals of closing Kirkwood is the walkability of downtown, so people parking further and walking, which is a healthy benefit too,” Wahl said. “I think they'll just have to adjust to walking and making sure that the ADA stay open for those people that want to come and visit our town.”
