AUBURN -- City councilors want to give a new parking policy a test drive before putting it in the road for good.

City council approved at its business meeting on Thursday a resolution amending Auburn's parking code. The new policy extends the city's alternate parking rules to apply for the entire year.

However, councilors also amended the ordinance to make it good only for one year. That way, councilors can revisit the new code and address issues like enforcement, which officials have said could be a problem.

"I can see a lot of good in this, but I am not completely comfortable with this yet," Councilor William Graney said during the meeting.

The new policy states that vehicles must park on the even-numbered sides of streets during even-numbered days of the month and on odd sides on odd days, for the entire year. Under the former ordinance, this system was in effect between Nov. 15 and March 30 to give snow plows enough room to clear the roads.

The policy regulates every municipal road unless otherwise posted, and goes into effect June 1.

The new policy will be enforced 24 hours a day from Nov. 15 to March 20, and from 6 p.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. Friday during the spring and summer.

Year-round alternate side parking will improve efficiency among the city's departments and make the streets safer for city employees and others, City Manager Mark Palesh said. When cars are parked on both sides of the street, it can block the road for fire engines and make it difficult to spot oncoming traffic, he said.

But Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta reiterated Thursday his concerns over enforcement. The city police department simply does not have the personnel to effectively enforce the policy during the summer, Giannotta said.

"I'm not saying it cannot be enforced, but I am saying that there are problems," he said. "We can try our best, but there is only so much we can get done."

Councilors asked Palesh to investigate other ways to enforce the policy.

After the meeting, Palesh said uniformed police officers do not have to be the ones writing tickets. The city can also utilize staff from the public works or code enforcement departments, he said.

He added that the city will likely give offenders some warning about the new policy before handing out citations.

"But I think when people see the beautiful results, they will say 'let's keep it going,'" Palesh said.

Not all of the councilors supported the resolution. Thomas McNabb was the one opposing vote.

"I think if we enact this, it is totally unenforceable," McNabb said before the vote.

For the full report read Friday's edition of The Citizen.