Glen Ellyn Streetscape Project May Eliminate Angled Parking

GLEN ELLYN, IL -- As part of the village's first major redesign of the Central Business District in over 30 years, the Glen Ellyn streetscape project has garnered a lot of attention. Village officials are asking residents for feedback as they prepare to debate changes to parking near some of the area's most visited spots, including near the Glen Art Theatre and the Glen Ellyn Civic Center.

Village Board President Diane McGinley posted on Facebook Wednesday that board members are considering changing angled parking spaces to parallel parking spaces in select locations. The potential change could impact:

• Crescent Street in front of Glen Art Theatre
• Area in front of Crescent Street Lot
• Main Street north of railroad tracks
• Duane Street in front of Civic Center

Currently, Glen Ellyn's Central Business District has a total of 361 parallel and angled street parking spots, according to village documents. Of these, two are ADA compliant, officials said. To meet federal requirements, the village would need a total of 19 spaces that are ADA accessible.

According to village officials, several parking spaces need to be updated to meet the standards of the current Illinois Vehicle Code.

On Facebook, McGinley wrote wider sidewalks will help increase the walkability of the village. Part of the streetscape plan also centers on creating more outdoor seating downtown, which would be facilitated by wider sidewalks, McGinley wrote.

To accommodate wider sidewalks, more ADA-accessible spaces, and meet Illinois code, the village says it will have to eliminate a total of 41 parking spaces throughout the Central Business District. Village documents state that IDOT's preferred method of street parking calls for parallel parking spots to better support the availability of ADA-accessible spots.

If the village maintains angled parking, McGinley wrote, parking spaces should not be at an angle of more than 30 degrees. "Anything above 30, we lose out on grant funds," she wrote.

Currently, the angled parking spaces in Glen Ellyn are at 45 or 60 degrees.

McGinley encouraged residents to provide feedback on the village's streetscape project website via email and to attend the March 4 village workshop, which will be held at the Glen Ellyn Civic Center.

"Leaving comments here will not reach the trustees, although I do see them," she wrote on her Facebook post.

The first phase preliminary engineering of the streetscape project, which kicked off in fall 2018, is expected to wrap up in April.