Some residents near the proposed parking removal on Roosevelt were upset by the plans and voiced their concerns at an open house last night, Maple Leaf Life reports.

Many of those who spoke up said they don’t even live on Roosevelt, but still live close enough feel the effects of people parking on their block to shop, dine or go to Maple Leaf Playground, and some are even suspected of commuting via bus from Roosevelt and using neighborhood streets as their own park and ride.

Residents were quick to remind SDOT workers that parking could be even more limited once the Maple Leaf Reservoir Park is completed in 2012, which doesn’t include any plans for additional parking.

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Removing parking is difficult to do in any area, but these strips of parking are already off-limits during rush hour, so the area is capable of living without them. And the city already has WAY too much free parking.

I am certainly all for the removal of on-street parking if it will make a road safer for bicyclists. I imagine frequent drivers of Roosevelt should also be in favor of these changes, since the climbing lanes will give bicyclists a space to go their uphill pace while cars can maintain a pace closer to the speed limit. It’s a win-win-sortalosebutnotreally situation.

I know from my years of being a driver that parking sucks. And when you live in a place where you sometimes can’t find parking for blocks away from your home, it’s really annoying and frustrating. But safety comes before convenience. It should be the city’s job to make streets safe first, then worry about convenience second. If you have to walk a little further to your car, then that sort of sucks. It was in that situation that I first starting riding a bike.

The goal is to have the plans adopted by the end of August and work finished September or October. Here are some difficult-to-decipher plans for the Roosevelt changes if you want to make your eyes bleed (click menu-view full screen or just download the PDF):