Aldermen expressed reluctance this week to grant a school district request to tear up the parkways surrounding Geneva High School to make room for additional on-street parking spaces.
But the City Council’s Special Transportation/Parking Committee did not officially deny the request from Geneva Community Unit District 301, opting to turn the matter over to the Public Works Department for a recommendation.
Ald. Merritt King, committee chairman, said, “We didn’t say no right now, but it’s doubtful the city will ever say yes, either.
“One of the charms of Geneva is its beautiful trees and wide parkways. We’d kind of like to keep it that way.”
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The high school, west of downtown, is bordered on three sides by homes. About 50 people from the neighborhood have signed a petition to the city objecting to the school district’s request.
King said it may be possible to add on-street parking when the city rebuilds Logan Street this year. But he said there is no interest on the committee’s part in digging up parkways along Center Street and McKinley Avenue.
The parkway plan was presented this year following the district’s release of a consultant’s study on a parking shortage at the high school.