August 19, 2019
The City of South Bend announces the reopening of St. Louis Boulevard between Jefferson and Northside Boulevards to vehicular traffic at the end of day on Tuesday, August 20. St. Louis Boulevard has been closed for streetscape work, which included new curbing, sidewalks, asphalt, on-street parking and the installation of watermain and storm sewers as part of the Howard Park Development Project. When St. Louis reopens, the street will include back-in angle parking along Howard Park.
Designed to improve safety when entering and exiting traffic, back-in angle parking allows drivers to reverse into spots, making them vigilant of other bicyclists, pedestrians and traffic around them. When drivers leave, they pull forward into the street instead of backing into it, allowing them to see oncoming traffic easier. Parking lines are angled against the direction of traffic indicating that the driver must back into the spot.
Other benefits of back-in angle parking include added safety for children exiting a vehicle and being directed to the sidewalk as well as having the vehicle trunk closer to the sidewalk for easy loading and unloading.
New signage to educate drivers on the steps to park in a back-in angled parking will be included on St. Louis Boulevard. The steps are:
Step 1: Find an open spot and put on your right-turn signal to let drivers know that you plan to park.
Step 2: Pull past the parking spot and stop.
Step 3: Slowly back into the parking spot.
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