Back in January the Brookfield Village Board set about trying to prevent commuters from parking their cars all day on streets north of the Congress Park Metra stop. Their solution was to expand the zone where non-resident parking was prohibited between 7 and 9 a.m. Monday through Friday to include the 3700 and 3800 blocks of Raymond, Harrison, Morton, Cleveland and Blanchan avenues.
Despite there being several spaces available in the commuter lot adjacent to the Congress Park platform, commuters simply responded by moving their vehicles farther north and walking a little more.
“This is snowballing out of control, almost,” said Brookfield Police Chief Steven Stelter.
Now the Brookfield Public Safety Committee, the advisory group that made the recommendation resulting in January’s village board decision, wants the board to expand the 7 to 9 a.m. parking restriction again.
In a letter to the village board on Oct. 11, Public Safety Committee Chairman Tim Heilenbach said the group had voted to recommend expanding the parking restriction to the 3600 blocks of Morton and Cleveland avenues. At the village board’s committee of the whole meeting on Oct. 28, he also said his group wanted to include the 3600 block of Harrison Avenue as well.
“It appears to be a never-ending battle,” said Heilenbach. “They don’t care [how far they have to walk] if they can park for free.”
Randy Schreiber, who lives at the south end of the 3600 block of Morton Avenue, said commuters started parking on his block “the day the signs went up” on the blocks where parking was restricted in January.
“On any given day there as many as six cars [parked at the end of the block], and they are all commuters,” said Schreiber, who also urged the board to consider including the 3600 block of Harrison Street in the plan. “They don’t care. They just want to park as close as they can.”
Whether this latest extension of the morning parking restriction in the area will finally do the trick is unknown. Some village trustees, Heilenbach and the police chief believe that it might not be the final chapter.
Stelter said the village may have to consider extending the restriction to the entire area between Southview and Washington avenues, from Maple to Kemman.
“Maybe then they’ll get caught in the snow or rain and break down and pay the buck and a half to use the lot,” Stelter said.
Brookfield’s village board is expected to vote on expanding the morning non-resident parking restriction to the 3600 blocks of Harrison, Morton and Cleveland avenues at its meeting on Nov. 11.
