TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the recommendation for City staff to create an Overnight Parking Program
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Michael Prousa, TED Project Manager
BACKGROUND:
The City of Naperville Municipal Code Section 11-2A-8 prohibits on-street parking between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. In recent years, Naperville has received numerous concerns regarding compliance with the ordinance. Various subdivisions in Naperville were identified as having a high number of parking citations for on-street overnight parking. Many of the areas with low compliance are townhome communities with limited parking options due to shorter driveways and single-car garages.
The overnight parking ordinance has been in effect since at least 1960. It may have been an effect prior to 1960. However, records prior to that time have been difficult to locate. In 1989, the ordinance was amended, changing the time vehicles were prohibited from parking on the street overnight. Prohibited parking times were changed from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. The reason for the change was to allow parking for those who left early for work and wanted the ability to park on the street prior to 6:00 a.m.
In 2013, Naperville developed an overnight parking pilot program that allowed residents to use a hang tag to park overnight on one side of designated streets in response to these concerns. The program required active participation by the homeowners’ association to advertise the program to its residents and manage hang tag distribution.
The first phase of the pilot began in September 2014 in the Villages of Westglen. The streets included in the program were Bannister Drive, Fessler Avenue, Rennet Avenue and Grimes Avenue. A map of the overnight parking is outlined in Attachment 2. Resident participation was low; therefore, staff was unable to properly evaluate the program. As a result, the second phase of the pilot program was initiated in The Enclave at Country Lakes in March 2016. The streets included in this pilot were Golf Ridge Circle, Genesee Drive/Court, Overlook Court, Oneida Lane, and Woodewind Drive. A map of the overnight parking is outlined in Attachment 3.
The Enclave pilot program experienced a greater amount of resident participation. Staff from Transportation, Engineering and Development, the Department of Public Works, the Naperville Police Department, and the Naperville Fire Department evaluated the program for possible impacts to City operations (emergency access, snowplowing, enforcement).
In recent years, City staff has received several concerns about parking issues in townhome communities with limited parking options due to shorter driveways and single-car garages. City staff concluded that allowing overnight parking on one side of the street in an organized manner did not impact operations and further expansion of the program to other areas should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
To create the Overnight Parking Program, City staff will have to create a new traffic schedule in the Municipal Code. With the passage of the Overnight Parking Program, TAB will also be approving an ordinance adding Schedule XXX (Overnight Parking Exemptions) to Section 5 (Traffic Schedules) of Chapter 1 (General Traffic Provisions) of Title 11 (Motor Vehicles) of the Naperville Municipal Code. This ordinance can be viewed in Attachment 4.
DISCUSSION:
After evaluation of the pilot program, City staff recommends creating an overnight parking program. If approved, interested Homeowner Associations would submit an application to participate in the program to the City. The Transportation, Engineering and Development, the Department of Public Works, the Naperville Police Department, and the Naperville Fire Department will evaluate each HOA request separately to ensure that city operations will not be impacted by allowing overnight parking. Each HOA asking for overnight parking exemptions will have to go through TAB and City Council for final review and approval after being evaluated by City departments. The Overnight Parking Program is outlined in Attachment 1.