Why parking near Busse Woods in Elk Grove this weekend could get you towed
Elk Grove Village is putting in a series of new parking regulations starting Friday - even threatening to tow cars - to curb congestion near the popular Busse Woods forest preserve.
Mayor Craig Johnson signed an executive order Thursday establishing a temporary residential parking permit program that will be in place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on nearly 10 miles of streets near the preserve.
Residents can fill out the permit form, available on the village's website, and place it on vehicle dashboards in order to park on the streets on weekends. That's when the Forest Preserve District of Cook County closes down Busse Woods parking lots in an effort to limit crowds and enforce social distancing guidelines due to COVID-19.
Anyone who parks on the streets without a permit, which shows the vehicle is registered to a Elk Grove Village address, will be towed, Johnson said.
He said police would be out and about checking for permits and verifying that addresses match up with vehicle registrations.
The new rules put more teeth into the village's recently-implemented parking restrictions, which initially barred all weekend parking on some eight miles of streets near Busse Woods. The penalty was a $30 ticket.
"People said to me and police officers, 'Hey, for $30, I will park here to go to the woods,'" Johnson said of those who were defying the rules. "(Now) anyone that parks illegally will get towed."
Other restrictions that will be implemented this weekend include:
• Temporary fencing is being installed near Elk Grove Bowl to prevent those who park in the shopping center from jaywalking across busy Arlington Heights Road into the forest preserve. If people do park there, they will be encouraged to cross at the nearby intersection with Higgins Road, Johnson said. A Cook County officer also will be on site.
• The rear parking lot of Elk Grove High School will be closed, though the smaller front lot will be open since it is closer to the pedestrian-activated crosswalk that leads into Busse Woods, Johnson said.
• Parking restrictions also will be in place near Lake Cosman, the private lake that is south and east of Busse Woods. Johnson said dozens of out-of-town vehicles were there last weekend as people went picnicking and fishing. But he said the lake is owned and maintained by a private homeowners' association.
The village's latest regulations come following conversations this week among Johnson, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Forest Preserves General Superintendent Arnold Randall. While Johnson has raised safety concerns about the impact of the Busse Woods parking lot closures on the village, he says the county leaders have been receptive to his ideas.
If it gets too crowded, he's suggested a full closure of Busse Woods.
"It's evolving," Johnson said. "If it's not successful and we have to take it to the extreme, they're willing to work with us."