DeKalb City Council to vote on proposed parking changes on Barb Boulevard on Monday

As the new sign says above the door, the Nehring building at 164 E. Lincoln Highway is now DeKalb City Hall.

DeKALB – Residents have one more chance to weigh in on proposed parking regulations on Barb Boulevard near Huntley Middle School. They will have that chance at the upcoming City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the DeKalb Public Library.

City staff are recommending approval of the proposed changes, which DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said will allow residents to be able to get in and out of their driveways, with drop-off zones provided for visiting teams and handicapped drivers.

“I think we have addressed all of those things and I’m eager to hear what you think,” Nicklas told aldermen during the April 26 meeting.

According to the meeting agenda, the regulations would “require resident-only street parking without the need for registering each vehicle, as is the case with neighborhoods where the Safe Streets initiative applies.” Other suggested changes include establishing a loading zone for no more than three vehicles at a time for no longer than 10 minutes on the south side, or eastbound, street – otherwise, parking on that side of the street will be unrestricted.

Parking on the north side, or westbound direction, of the street between South First Street and South Second Street would be restricted, however. All vehicles parked on that side of Barb Boulevard must display city-issued parking tags or risk getting towed.

“The parking tags will be issued at no charge by the Public Works Department and will be mailed annually to residents whose properties front the north side of Barb Boulevard,” according to the agenda.

Barb Boulevard residents Mike Tritle and Tom Riley spoke during the April 26 City Council meeting in favor of the proposed regulations. Tritle said street parking on the boulevard has been a continuing problem and that it wasn’t as much of a problem when the Huntley Middle School used the old high school building.

“But when it transitioned to the middle school and the games were being played across the street from our houses, the parking and the disrespect for the neighborhood was phenomenal,” Tritle said.

Tritle said he has seen cars parked up to three feet away from the curb on both sides of the street.

“And where the straw broke the camel’s back was when a football player got injured and an ambulance needed to be called,” Tritle said. “The ambulance had a very hard time getting down the street.”

Tritle said the parking situation wasn’t as bad in 2020 because there were no sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the games are starting to become more frequent, he said the problem is resurfacing. Although he said he is not against sports events happening across the street from his residence, he said he believes the ordinance is well-written and that aldermen should pass the ordinance changes.

Riley said he also reached out to DeKalb Fifth Ward Alderman Scott McAdams about vehicles speeding on Barb Boulevard.

“There are no stop signs between First Street and Fourth Street,” Riley said. “And believe me, I just sit out there and watch them speed on by.”

Riley also mentioned another concern of his is being able to back out of his driveway.

“I look about three or four times before I back out of my driveway because of speeding,” Riley said. “You can see them down the block and, by the time you’re backing out, they’re right on top of you.”

The City Council voted unanimously in favor of the first reading of the proposed changes during the April 26 council meeting. All aldermen were physically present during the meeting.

First Ward Alderwoman Carolyn Morris said she supports the proposed changes.

“As a track mom, I have been dropping my son off there this past week and my son has asked me to pick him up over by the high school,” Morris said. “When I asked, ‘Why?,’ he’s like, ‘It’s safer.’ ... You can see there’s an enormous parking lot with plenty of space that everyone could be parking in instead of this street. And it would be significantly safer for everyone.”

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