Dec 15, 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- Big changes could be coming to Wichita, depending on which way the upcoming city council vote swings on two major issues. The long-anticipated issue of paid parking as well as some sweeping changes to how Wichita's homeless population is treated are on the docket. Both issues will have serious impacts on people in Wichita. On the issue of parking, it's been narrowed down to two options: Plan A and Plan E. Both have new variations. According to City Councilmember for District 1 Brandon Johnson, the variations are meant to address the $18 million deferred maintenance cost in Wichita's parking garages without making the public and businesses feel unnecessary financial pressure. You can read more about those plans here. The variations generally encompass minor changes to pricing and which areas of Downtown, Old Town or Delano they are applied to. "We asked to find some sort of compromise between the two options or something a little different that would help solve some of the parking issues and some of the concerns that we've heard," Councilman Johnson said. Meanwhile, homeless camps are in danger of seeing intense new restrictions. A few major changes are packaged into one agenda item: Aggressive behavior categorization is being stripped back, removing the homeless specification and applying it to all equally. Removes protections for notice on camp eviction. In high traffic areas, no notice is necessary. In other areas it could be as short at 48 hours. Restricts laws on disrupting the flow of traffic Widens the who has ability to enforce, empowering private property owners or park employees. Eliminates the need for shelter beds to be available before the camps are cleared. "It would give enforcement to park staff and maybe see other police officers outside of the HOT Team and all of that so enforcement would drastically change, in my opinion," Johnson said. This will be the final city council session of 2024, held on Tuesday.
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