No more parking on portion of Evernia Court in Geneva

They say you can’t put 10 pounds of mud in a 5-pound bag and you can’t turn a 40-foot fire department tower truck onto a cul-de-sac if parked cars are in the way.

That’s why the Geneva City Council amended the city code Sept. 16 not to allow on-street parking on a 50-foot portion of the east side of Evernia Court, north of Eklund Avenue in Geneva, according to the fire department’s request.

The Evernia Court cul-de-sac has 16 homes on it and is located on the west side of Wheeler Park.

“While responding to a call for service, the Geneva Fire Department’s tower truck was unable to safely navigate the turn from Eklund Avenue onto Evernia Court in part due to a vehicle parked on the east side of the street,” City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said.

Geneva’s tower truck – also known as a ladder or aerial truck – is 12.7 feet tall, according to the website of Pierce Manufacturing Inc., the company that built the truck for Geneva. Fire Chief Michael Antenore said the tower truck is more than 40 feet long and carries a ladder with a platform that unfolds to 110 feet. The truck came into service in August 2022.

“The intersection and issue of accessibility of emergency vehicles was reviewed by staff not only from (the) police department but the fire department and the public works department for potential remedies,” Dawkins said.

After speaking with residents, amending the city code to make part of that street no parking would solve the problem and be the least disruptive, Dawkins said.

Third Ward Alderperson Dean Kilburg asked if the narrower streets east of Anderson Boulevard near Geneva High School presented similar difficulties for emergency vehicles.

Deputy Police Chief Matthew Dean said none of the other streets caused any difficulties.

“This problem really came to be after a call for service when they tried to make that turn,” Dean said of the fire department. “We kind of rely on comments from other safety departments about emergency vehicle access. And this was the only one that really came to be.”

Dawkins said when the fire department got its new tower truck, the city raised the tree canopy on several streets because of the truck’s height to allow it to travel safely without hitting any branches.