HIGHLIGHTS: Chamber's unofficial notes from Transportation Commission Meeting (OP)

CHAMBER NOTES FROM GOVT/GOVT-RELATED MEETING

Meeting Name:  Transportation Commission, Village of Oak Park

Meeting Date: Mon., Jan. 8 @7pm

Meeting Location: Village Hall, Council Chambers

Type of Meeting: VOP Commission

Led by: Chair Jack Chalabian

Liaison(s): VOP Staff John Youkhana, Parking & Mobility Services

Chamber of Commerce Representative in Attendance: Cathy Yen, Executive Director

Caveat: This document reflects the Chamber representative's own personal notes and highlights of the meeting.  Official meeting minutes of this Public Meeting will be available for review of the VOP website once they are approved by the Commission.

Chamber’s notes from the meeting:

• Commissioners heard and presentation from Village Staff and Parking Consultants Dixon Resources Unlimited
• Presentation included findings from 2017 parking study along with suggestions and recommendations for a Pilot Program for 2018
• Points of investigation included: daytime restrictions, meters and overnight permits & passes.  Both on-street and surface lot reviewed for all three types.
• Plan is to run a pilot program with revised parking rules in a specific geographic area:  the blocks from Harlem to Oak Park Avenue and South Blvd to Harrison.
• From a business perspective, this includes all of the Pleasant District, half of Hemingway (south of the train), half of Southtown (north of the Eisenhower) and Madison from OP Ave to Harlem.
• The Village Board is expecting a recommendation from the Commission as to what the parking rules should be for this specific area during the pilot program.  After the pilot program, staff, the consultants and the commissioners will review results and present recommendations to the Village Board as to what changes, if any, should be made to parking rules in the Village.
• After reviewing staff and consultants recommendations, the Commission requested that the Village hold another public meeting to review findings and potential changes to current rules.  That meeting is expected to be held within the next 2-3 weeks, although a date has not yet been set.
• The Chamber requested that the rules regarding meters be discussed first at the meeting, so that business owners less concerned with overnight parking rules could attend the first part of the meeting only.  The Commission agreed to consider that request and also directed staff to reach out directly to leadership of the impacted business districts.
• Although there was no official recommendation as to what changes the Commission would get behind, the group decided to give the public a "strawman" set of possible changes.  Potential changes to the meter rules could include 3 hours at the current rates ($1.00 / hour) with graduated rates for anytime over 3 hours and paid time at the meter from 8am - 8pm, Mon - Sat.  (Other times were discussed and could be enacted - this is in no way final.)
• Most of the meeting was focused on daytime restrictions (8am - 10am? 3 hour?) and overnight parking.
• February 5 is the next meeting of the Transportation Commission.  Ideally, the public meeting will be held before then so that commissioners can deliberate on February 5 and send a final recommendation for the pilot program to the Board of Trustees soon afterward.