District 181 Raises Safety Concerns Over Village Proposal

HINSDALE, IL — District 181 has several safety concerns after a village proposal to reduce the structural capacity of the new Hinsdale Middle School parking deck. The district said it stands firmly in its position that reducing the live load structural capacity of the upper level of the Hinsdale Middle School Parking Deck to the extent proposed by the Village of Hinsdale raises serious safety concerns.

According to the district, the two-level parking deck on the campus of the Hinsdale Middle School is a joint project between the village and the school district. The original plan for the new HMS involved a single street-level parking lot for HMS staff and visitors. The district said the second tier was added when the village offered to cover a portion of the cost if they could utilize the lower level for visitors to Hinsdale’s central business district to solve the village’s longstanding parking problem.

The district said the parking deck is different than a standard parking deck because the school and the gym exit directly onto the upper level of the deck. The HMS parking deck must be able to support significant numbers of people exiting to the upper deck at around the same time after school or following school events. According to the district, this is different than a standard parking deck in which daily use would be limited to the staggered coming and going of drivers and passengers to and from parked cars.

James A. Barrett of 20/10 Engineering Group, LLC, advised District 181, “It is my structural opinion that the upper level of the parking deck should have a floor loading in excess of the required 40 PSF as listed in ASCE 7-10.” The district said Barrett further recommended that the top level is designed at 100 PSF live-load.

According to the district, the village expressed in a letter to the district and at its Oct. 16 Board of Trustees meeting that the cost of a 100 PSF design load “would unnecessarily cause the project to greatly exceed
the amount the village has budgeted for the project.”

"The District's goal is to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” said District Superintendent Dr. Hector Garcia. “We fully support saving taxpayer dollars wherever possible, as long as it is not at the expense of safety, and believe a collaborative approach would be the best means of identifying cost-effective design solutions."

The district said the Village also requested that other design matters be addressed through mediation. However, the district has recommended an objective discussion of the technical requirements for the structural capacity of the upper level of the parking deck with structural engineers involved.

Image via District 181.