Discussion:
In 2009, parking restrictions were enacted in the Countryside neighborhood north of the high school north of 17th Avenue (County Road 16) to address issues with high school students parking on the streets within the neighborhood in lieu of the high school parking lot.
Once the high school expansion project began and because of impacts to the parking lots, these parking restrictions were temporarily removed to help accommodate needed parking, to be reinstalled upon project completion. The parking lot work is now complete and the signs are scheduled to be reinstalled prior to the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.
In connection to the parking experienced in the north Countryside neighborhood adjacent to the high school, the same parking issues are now being experienced in the Countryside neighborhood to the west across Koeper Avenue. This parking issue has become more prominent with the expansion of the school to west, moving an entrance closer to the that neighborhood.
The issue was evaluated by the Traffic Safety Committee and it was recommended to implement parking restrictions in the west Countryside neighborhood similar to what was put in place in the north Countryside neighborhood. The intent is to minimize mid-block pedestrian crossing, improve traffic safety, and minimize parking nuisances in adjacent neighborhoods. It should also be noted that adequate on-site school parking is available in the school's parking lots.
The recommendation is to place a 2-hour parking restriction for on-street parking during school hours, identical to the parking restriction placed north of the high school (see attached map).
An informational letter was sent to the residents in the Countryside neighborhood west of the high school with no critical objections to the restrictions (see attached). Additional coordination and education is planned with the school as part of the start of the new school year.