SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- They separate the bike lanes from the roadway for reasons of safety and accessibility, but some people describe the floating parking spaces on Syracuse University's campus as awkward.
"It's very bizzare, it's very confusing," said Caitlin Flattery, a graduate student at Syracuse Universtiy. "I see people all the time stopping and honking behind this line of parked cars."
Community members brought concerns to the Syracuse Common Council, and earlier this year, floating parking was removed from Comstock Avenue. Bob Dougherty sits on the council and says he doesn't know that removing the floaters was the best idea.
"Those parking spots were being used by people and also eventually we were going to meter those spots so the city is losing revenue also," said Dougherty, who represents the third district.
The Common Council will vote on whether or not to remove the remaining floating parking on Waverly Avenue. It's one part of the $300,000 Complete Streets Implementation Project, that will add and improve bike and pedestrian amenities, and improve traffic throughout the city.
Nader Maroun, the common councilor from the 5th district where the floating parking is located, says he expects the vote to pass.
"People don't know - is this a line for traffic or what it is," said Maroun. "I'm glad to see we've finally come to our senses and found the comfort to remove something that just didn't quite work."
Although the parking spaces were intended as a safety buffer, some say the roads will be safer without them.
"People can get by faster and there will be no struggles," said Joel Rembert. "Like if something serious were to happen, like a huge fire truck needed to come down or an ambulance needed to come around these roads."
"When the cars are parked in the middle of the road like this, it's very difficult for our DPW to plow," said Maroun. "And let's face it, there aren't necessarily a lot of bikers that are going to be coming down Waverly in the winter, so from a safety standpoint I think it will improve things considerably."
If the Common Council votes to pass the project Monday, you can expect to see the floating parking removed by the time students return to campus.
No word yet on what the city will do to replace the parking.