Oswego will restrict on-street parking during school days in specific neighborhoods and business districts within a one-mile radius of Oswego East High School to try and solve what officials say is an ongoing student parking issue.
The Village Board recently voted to restrict parking between 7 a.m. and noon on school days in the targeted areas due to parking-related issues for residents in neighborhoods of the Prescott Mill subdivision.
Nathan Brown, president of the Prescott Mill single-family homeowners association, extended his thanks to the village and police department for working on the issue.
“I know at times this has been contentious and difficult to try to balance the needs and desires of residents and students but I want to say first and foremost I appreciate the hard work and energy you have all put in to try to come up with a solution,” he said.
Brown said while he was supportive of the change in the village’s parking ordinance, it is not a “perfect solution.”
“I would be happy if the school district would provide enough parking for its students so they can safely come to and from school but that apparently is not going to happen anytime soon,” he said.
The village has designated five zones in the area of the high school for the parking restrictions.
Residents who wish to park in a restricted zone but do not live in that neighborhood can apply for a permit from the village. Only 25 permits will be issued for each zone. An annual permit will cost $400.
Virtual permits only will be linked to license plate numbers. Residents outside of the Oswego village limits are not eligible to apply for zone permits.
Applications and a map of the restricted parking zones are available on the village’s website at www.oswegoil.org/parking.
A resident whose vehicle is registered to an address in one of the zones may park in that area without a permit. Contractors and delivery trucks or vehicles in the area to provide a service are exempt from the restrictions as are vehicles parked for emergency purposes.
Oswego police will issue written warnings to violators during the first 30 days of the program. Motorists will be issued tickets after the grace period, including a $250 fine per occurrence.
Residents of the Prescott Mill subdivision brought concerns about school-related parking issues to the village. Village officials met with both School District 308 officials and residents to look for solutions to address the parking situation, Oswego Development Services Director Rod Zenner said in a report to trustees.
The Village Board in 2018 and 2021 approved ordinances to restrict parking between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on certain streets but that was not effective, officials said.
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“Each time the village has prohibited parking, students have just parked further away and walked to school,” Zenner said in his report.
Zenner said the school district has installed parking that exceeds the minimum parking requirements, but that there is still a lack of on-site parking.
District officials indicated providing 80 spaces of additional on-site parking may be cost prohibitive, Zenner said.
Village staff subsequently suggested the village allow a second gravel parking lot near the school.
Trustee James Marter was supportive of having the alternative gravel surface be included in the ordinance amendment.
Village President Troy Parlier agreed with Marter.
“We should make every option possible – safety is the ultimate goal,” Parlier said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.