Neighbors complaining about traffic, parking woes near new church

Dozens of neighbors living near a newly opened Catholic church near Lombard are up in arms about recent weekend services that have snarled the quiet subdivision with traffic.

Milton Township offices have been inundated with calls from angry residents hoping for relief from the traffic at Divine Mercy Polish Mission, just off I-355 and North Avenue.

The church, which caters to Polish immigrants living in the Western suburbs, saw 1,400 people -- about double the capacity -- attend Easter Sunday Mass, the Rev. Adam Bobola said earlier. He could not be reached for comment on the parking complaints.

A similar turnout is expected this Sunday as Joliet Diocese Bishop J. Peter Sartain presides at a 1 p.m. Mass to consecrate the new church.

Several residents living near the church are livid about the turnout.

"This area is so small, and the roads are barely bigger than the size of a driveway," said Charmaine Mortensen, a resident who argued against the construction of the church more than five years ago, fearing it would lead to traffic and parking problems in the subdivision.

"We knew from the start this would be a serious problem," she said. "But it fell on deaf ears."

Barb Koslow, owner of the nearby Koslow Cycle bicycle store on North Avenue and Swift Road, said she's had to hire a towing company to monitor her parking lot on the weekends.

Parishioners had spent the last two weekends parking in her lot without permission.

"I don't want the church to think we're not neighborly, but we need to protect the other tenants in our building who need the parking space on the weekends," she said.

Gary Muehlfelt, the township's highway commissioner, said "90 percent" of his work the last week has been devoted to alleviating concerns from homeowners in the neighborhood.

"It's been a full eight days of calls," Muehlfelt said. "We're trying to work with all the residents in the community, and we've put up temporary no-parking signs on roads near the church."

"We're glad to see the father has such a huge following," he said. "But public safety is the number one issue in our office."

The church has arranged some off-site parking and shuttle service, which should help with the crowds this weekend, Muehlfelt said.

And the DuPage County sheriff's officers are expected to help with traffic detail this weekend.

"Everybody is anxious to see what's going to happen on a weekly basis," Muehlfelt said. "Nobody really knows."