Wheaton to consider new parking restrictions

Wheaton officials will restrict parking more than first expected along a narrow street that runs just north of the former Alcoa Flexible Packaging plant that soon will house a church.

After hearing a proposal to restrict parking along Lincoln Avenue from 6 a.m. to noon every Sunday, city officials said it would make sense to restrict parking on the north side of that street 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The city council split on the matter, with Mayor Mike Gresk casting the deciding vote in favor of restricting parking all day and night.

The restriction would avoid congestion that could arise and potentially delay emergency vehicles if a need arose in the Lincoln Marsh Natural Area.

“It puts on the table a bigger question that maybe as a group we need to address,” Councilman Phil Suess said this week. “The concern has always been, if there is parking here, what is our ability to get a fire truck in there?”

The discussion followed the council approving a special use permit that will allow the Church of the Resurrection, an Anglican church with missionary connections in Rwanda, to set up shop on the 900 block of West Union Avenue. The congregation previously worshipped at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn.

During a meeting earlier this month, council members expressed concern that overflow traffic at the 990-seat church could cause headaches for emergency vehicles on Lincoln Avenue. Church officials said they don’t expect any problems from parking restrictions.

The talk led to a broader discussion about whether officials should consider parking restrictions on narrow streets throughout the city. City Engineer Paul Redman estimated that the street was about 18 to 20 feet wide.

“We have a very inconsistent policy throughout the area,” Councilwoman Jeanne Ives said, noting that a street in her neighborhood near Whittier Elementary School is also narrow. “There is no way a fire truck could get down there with parking on both sides, which is allowed. If this is the start of a consistent policy, then I’m for it.”