Parking
You Control Your Neighborhood
Clearing Up Parking Confusion
Some 8th Ward Residents (possibly new residents) have called and emailed me with their questions about the parking regulations. To give you a little background, when I was campaigning for Alderman in the fall and winter of 2004, one of the most common complaints was about the parking problems in the 8th Ward.
After doing a little research on the problem, it
became clear that a significant factor causing the problem was that
Berwyn (and particularly the 8th Ward) was being treated as a
public parking lot by non-residents. People either car pooling or
taking the “EL” or commuting downtown to work found Berwyn to be a
convenient free parking lot. They could not park in Oak Park, Forest
Park, North Riverside and other surrounding communities because it was
illegal to do so in those communities.
The period of time
that presented the biggest
problem for Berwyn was between 5am and 9am. It was during this period
of time that non-residents were heading for work and would conveniently
park their cars in the 8th Ward and other locations
throughout Berwyn.
An attempt to solve this problem has been to
impose RESIDENT PERMIT PARKING ONLY 3AM – 9AM. Signs have been posted
on the 1200 and 1300 blocks throughout the 8th Ward as
somewhat of a pilot program.
Because I resent politicians who tell
residents what they can and cannot do, as part of my proposal
residents were given control over their neighborhoods. If residents
feel that the time period of 3AM – 9AM is too restrictive or not
restrictive enough, they can petition their Alderman to have that time
period changed.
An example of this grassroots power is the 1200
block of Wesley. Those residents petitioned me to impose RESIDENT
PERMIT PARKING ONLY 24 hours a day! In other words, if you don’t have a
Berwyn Vehicle Sticker on your windshield, you cannot park on that
street at any time. I will be following up in that
neighborhood this month to see how the program is working out.
It was important for me to make sure these
residents understood that , unless their guests had a “Visitors
Pass”, THEIR GUESTS would be ticketed if they parked their
non-resident vehicle on their block. Visitor Passes are discussed as
the next topic.
Some residents on the 1400 block of Scoville have indicated that they want NO parking restrictions on their block. However, they seem to be a small minority since most others on the block appear to want some restrictions.
Imposing parking restrictions not only helps to eliminate over-crowded streets. It also aids law enforcement in locating unwanted “guests”. Gang members and others who intend on doing harm to Berwyn residents often drive vehicles that are not registered in Berwyn. Noticing that a car does not have Berwyn vehicle sticker has led to arrests in these instances.
The purpose of this “parking refresher course” is to remind you that YOU have control of your neighborhoods. If things are not working out and you would like different rules for your neighborhood, please call me and I will take steps to help you.
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