With children darting between cars, Yorkville police recommend safer parking restrictions outside school

With schoolchildren darting between cars and traffic backing up down the street, residents and city officials agreed something needed to be done to improve safety outside of Grande Reserve Elementary School in Yorkville.

Grande Reserve Elementary School principal Michelle Breyne urged the city council to take action.

“I am here just pleading for attention and diligence for the traffic in the Grande Reserve neighborhood given the new construction directly across from the school,” Breyne said at a city council meeting.

Yorkville Police Chief Jim Jenson said his department is recommending parking restrictions to help alleviate safety concerns in the area.

“We had several complaints from HOA members of the Grande Reserve subdivision about the parent pickup and cars in front of the Grande Reserve Elementary School,” Jensen said at a city council meeting. “People are parking on both sides of the road with children coming out of school. Children will run between the cars and out into traffic as cars are going in both directions.”

To improve safety, police proposed time-restricted limited parking along Grande Trail during designated times on school days, focusing on high-traffic periods, including morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up.

An analysis by the department’s traffic division found that during those peak traffic flow school hours, parking from the school property spills onto both sides of Grande Trail, creating unsafe conditions and traffic problems. It also determined that the width of the roadway cannot accommodate vehicles parked on both sides while maintaining a safe and normal traffic flow, according to city documents.

The department’s proposal includes limiting parking to one side of Grande Trail, the side opposite the school between Matlock Drive and McLellan Boulevard. The parking restrictions would be in place on school days only, during peak traffic times from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

The city council approved at its March 11 meeting moving the parking restrictions along to the next step, which is reaching out to the public for their input. A public hearing is being held at the April 3 Public Safety Committee meeting.

Following, the public hearing, a final vote of approval will come before city council at their April 8 meeting.