SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – Long lines of RVs dotting San Jose streets could be gone soon. The City of San Jose has selected 30 locations where it will tell people living in RVs to either move, accept shelter, or be towed away.
This program was approved back in November but is only now taking shape.
Michael Petronella lives in an RV off Chynoweth Avenue in San Jose. He has collected piles of parking tickets, but one green slip may be the most consequential. It is a warning by the city that his long-term parking spot will soon be a tow-away zone.
In November, city officials enacted a program to take 30 streets in total around San Jose and slowly turn them into tow-away zones.
Chynoweth is the first tow-away zone on the list. The deadline is less than a week away on Jan. 13.
“It’s a neighborhood that has been severely impacted, but so have other neighborhoods, and I want to acknowledge that,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Mahan says clearing San Jose’s streets of RVs is a long time coming. He says many of them butt against schools, shelters and other environments that can be deemed unsafe.
“At a minimum, people have the option of moving. And while that is not ideal, the residents and businesses who have had RVs next to them for a year deserve relief,” Mahan said.
Shelter space around San Jose is full as are there limited safe parking spaces for people to move their trailers to.
But Mahan says he wants to see an increase of 1,000 shelter options for the new year. That includes a new safe parking sight off Berryessa opening in February.
“I hope by being out there doing the enhanced cleanups, doing temporary tow-away that we are creating incentives and find more sustainable places to be,” Mahan said.
Petronella has been forced to move his RV nearly every week and hopes that can end soon with some kind of help.
“I don’t want to deal with drama. I just want to sleep and wake up the next day,” he said.
Jan. 13 is the day oversized cars will no longer be allowed on Chynoweth Avenue. The next road to be targeted by San Jose will be Boynton Avenue, with enforcement starting Jan. 20.
