Residents-only parking planned near Elgin High School

Parking currently is not allowed on some streets near Elgin High School on school days from 7 to 11 a.m. But that leads to overflow parking on nearby streets. COURTESY OF THE CITY OF ELGIN

Residents-only parking is in the works for neighborhoods in the Summerhill subdivision, south and east of Elgin High School, 1200 Maroon Drive. COURTESY OF THE CITY OF ELGIN

The city of Elgin plans to impose residents-only parking by Elgin High School to deter students and others from parking on neighborhood streets.

Some days there are so many cars, including personal vehicles belonging to bus drivers, that postal workers say they can't properly deliver mail, senior management analyst Aaron Cosentino said.

The restriction -- the first of its kind in the city -- would be implemented first as a three-month trial, and would apply to the neighborhoods south and east of Elgin High School, 1200 Maroon Drive, known as the Summerhill subdivision.

Residents would not be required to get city stickers. Instead, police officers would check vehicles' license plates to ensure they are registered to neighborhood streets. Residents would call the police station to advise of any vehicles belonging to guests, Cosentino said.

The city council will vote on the proposal -- with a preliminary vote on Wednesday and a final one expected later this month -- and residents will have a chance to voice their opinions at yet-to-be-scheduled community meetings.

That was great news for Maria Baeza, who lives about a block from the school, where no parking is allowed on school days from 7 to 11 a.m. The city took that measure a few years ago to try to deal with the high school-related parking problem.

"We really struggle (with the 'no parking' restriction)," Baeza said. "We always move our cars but sometimes we get tickets because we just forget about it. And in the winter my dad has to shovel the snow before he can move the car."

Residents-only parking is a great idea, resident Sergio Valdivia agreed. He lives on a nearby street where there are no parking restrictions, which means it's usually overflowing with cars on school days.

"Sometimes they park almost on my driveway, and I always have to pick up garbage -- cigarettes, those energy drinks, coffee," he said. "I'm a stay-at-home dad, so I see them. I know it's from the high school (students)."

But students, such as seniors Samuel Olson and Josue Benitez, were not at all happy. They could park in the school's parking lot, but that costs $100 per year.

"It's not affordable," Benitez said, adding he hopes maybe relatives or friends who live nearby will let him park in their driveways.

Olson said that, besides the cost of the fee, the school parking lot is in bad shape. "There are a lot of potholes," he said. "I borrow my mom's car and if I damage, I am responsible. I don't want to park there."

Elgin Area School District U-46 spokeswoman Mary Fergus said officials likely will look at prorating the $100 fee for students who didn't park in the school lot for the full year.

The lot holds about 600 spots for students, and only about half are occupied on an average school day, Principal Jerry Cook said. Staff members park in a separate area, for free.

"I expect some backlash of students expressing their displeasure with that decision. Absolutely," Cook said.

The $100 parking fee -- the same for all district high schools -- is set by the school board. Cook said he has "mixed emotions" about the parking issue. "Is $100 too much? I'm not really in a position to say."

The fee amounts to about 60 cents per school day. However, about 77 percent of Elgin High's students are on free and reduced lunches.

Some students say they don't have a problem paying the $100 parking fee.

"I don't think it's too much," said senior Christian Lantin, pointing to St. Charles North High School, which charges the same amount for every-other-day parking. "But it could be expensive for some of those people here who don't have as much income as some of those people (at St. Charles North)."