With two weeks to go before new Flossmoor parking regulations go into effect, village officials are stepping up efforts to inform citizens about the changes, including a parking ban on the hydrant side of most neighborhood streets.
Earlier this month, the village sent out a direct mail postcard for its “Be on the Safe Side” campaign. Information on the parking changes can also be found on the village website, the fall newsletter, village e-newsletter and Cable Channel 4.
“Residents will have to learn new habits with the change in parking, which takes time,” said Village Manager Bridget Wachtel. “We wanted enough lead time to communicate the change so residents can start to form new habits. This also provides them time to communicate the change with friends, family and others who visit.”
The village is not trying to play “gotcha” with the new parking law, Wachtel said.
“Hopefully, everyone can understand our objective – to increase safety and accessibility,” she said.
Under an ordinance approved last month, parking will be restricted to the non-hydrant side of the street in most neighborhoods. In addition, parking will be prohibited on village streets following snowfalls greater than two inches. Village officials said the parking restrictions are needed so that fire trucks and other emergency vehicles can safely traverse Flossmoor’s streets under all types of conditions.
Some areas of Flossmoor are exempted from the one-side-only regulations. Existing parking regulations remain in effect near schools, churches and parks. The downtown area is not affected by the new rules and the ordinance does not cover private streets in the village.
The one-side-only parking restriction goes into effect Oct. 1 but actual enforcement of the new regulation will not begin until December. Police plan to issue warning tickets to anyone parking on the wrong side of the street during the first two months of the new ordinance.
New signs announcing the one-side-only and snowfall restrictions are to be installed in time for the start of the new regulations.
After the mailing was sent, the village received a handful of location-specific questions and is following up on the queries, Wachtel said. At the Sept. 8 village board meeting, Mayor Paul Braun said he was very pleased with the mailing and had heard from a number of residents who were impressed with its message.
“The village takes communication with our residents very seriously,” Wachtel said. “As with other major programs, we gave a lot of thought to the educational component of this change to a village ordinance. Like we have done for other educational campaign efforts, like for referendum issues, we are using a multimedia approach to inform residents.”
Further information on the parking changes is available at www.flossmoor.org. Wachtel said persons with questions can also call the police department at 708-957-4500.
