After drawing a number of comments and eliciting concerns from residents regarding changing on-street parking regulations in Brookfield, officials are inviting residents to attend the next meeting of the village Public Safety Committee, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the village hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave.
Although the Public Safety Committee had hoped to meet earlier to collect more input from residents, scheduling conflicts made that impossible, said Trustee David LeClere, who is the village’s board’s liaison to the committee.
Instead, the next meeting will be on May 25, at which time fire department and public works officials are expected to make their case for adopting changes to parking rules. Currently, residents are able to park their cars on village streets 24 hours a day.
With many of the village’s streets measuring just 24 feet wide, that can make it impossible for fire trucks, ambulances and snow plows to get through in emergency situations if cars are parked on both sides of the street.
The village board addressed the subject of overnight parking at its April 12 meeting, kicking it to the Public Safety Committee to gather more information and input from residents.
The village does mandate parking on one side of the street during snow emergencies. Even then, however, officials annually plead with residents to move their cars to allow plows to get through.
Any recommendation by the Public Safety Committee would be advisory. Final say on any change in parking laws rests with the village board.
– Bob Uphues