Downers Grove Prepares for Traffic, Parking Changes Near Downtown, Belmont Underpass

As construction nears completion on the Belmont Underpass and various projects at Downers Grove North High School, village officials are gearing up to make several changes to traffic and parking restrictions.

Downers Grove Public Works Director Nan Newlon presented an ordinance to the village council Tuesday night that would modify traffic and parking near the Belmont Metra station, 5000 Belmont Road; North High, 4436 Main St; and the downtown parking garage, located on Mochel Drive between Main and Washington streets.

The changes are mostly minor, she said, and are meant to accommodate the traffic patterns of vehicles and pedestrians in the affected areas.

Belmont Road Parking and Operational Changes

As of Tuesday, the Belmont Underpass was 96 percent complete, Newlon said.

Workers have been busy finishing the pavement on Belmont Road, and are close to beginning the striping, she said. With most of the permanent signage already installed, the project could be wrapped up in the coming weeks.

Construction on the $59 million underpass at the Belmont Station began in May 2010, nearly eight years after the village entered into an agreement with the state, DuPage County, the BNSF Railway and Metra.

The project—conceived in response to a high number of traffic accidents at the location—reconfigured the intersection from an at-grade crossing to an underpass, with Belmont Road located under the tracks, as well as Warren and Burlington avenues.

The underpass, according to Metra and village officials, will improve vehicular and pedestrian safety, create faster emergency response times for fire and police personnel, improve the flow of traffic and increase accessiblity to the nearby Ellsworth Industrial Park.

Although the project was scheduled to be wrapped up in June 2013, much of the work has been completed ahead of schedule, according to village officials.

Newlon recommended the following parking and traffic changes to the village council:

• Install an all-way stop control at Warren Avenue/West Loop Ramp intersection;

• Install two-way stop control at Burlington Avenue/East Loop Ramp intersection, with eastbound traffic uncontrolled;

• Remove the 12-hour parking meter zone along the south side of Warren Avenue, between Belmont Road and Pershing Avenue and include these parking spaces with the existing Village Commuter Lot G;

• Designate an area on the south side of Burlington Avenue, immediately west of the West Loop Ramp intersection for the Grove Shuttle evening passenger pick-up operation;

• Install turn restrictions from Village Lot J, prohibiting left turns to westbound Haddow Avenue;

• Install turn restrictions from northbound Belmont Road onto West Loop Ramp; 

• Install turn restrictions from southbound Belmont Road onto East Loop Ramp; and 

• Replace the 12-Hour parking meter zone along the south side of Burlington Ave, between Walnut and Chase Avenue with daily fee parking. 

The changes will increase driver safety, streamline commuter parking operations by removing parking meters and replacing them with daily fee spaces, and enhance service to Grove Shuttle riders by moving the evening, Newlon said.

North High School Parking and Traffic Changes

Site and building improvements at Downers Grove North High School are also nearing completion, Newlon said.

In August, the school opened its new, enlarged east parking lot, which was constructed using permeable pavers.

Newlon recommended minor changes to the Village Code related to parking and traffic operations in the area of the school to accommodate the new bus loading and unloading operation, which now takes place in an off-street parking lot, rather than on Print and Grant streets.

As a result of the change, the village will eliminate the code-designated Bus Loading Zone along the east side of Prince Street, south of Grant Street, as well as the code-designated road closure of Prince and Grant streets during the 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. hour.

To enhance pedestrian safety and facilitate the sharing of play fields and parking areas between the two schools, village officials will designate a new mid-block school crossing on Saratoga Avenue, north of the west parking lot, with mid-block pedestrian crossing and mid-block street signage, Newlon said.

Parking Deck Parking Changes

Changes are also planned for the village's downtown parking deck and commuter motorcycle parking downtown.

Levels 3 and 4 of the parking deck have been available to daily fee users beginning at 5 a.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. According to Newlon, the Downtown Parking Study conducted last year found those spaces to be up to 100 percent occupied during parking counts.

Level 5 of the deck has been operated as a combination of permit (Lot S) and daily fee parking; however, parking was prohibited in the daily fee spaces before 8 a.m.

"This regulation, along with a strong demand for parking for express trains around 8 a.m., resulted in frustration by parkers and enforcement problems," Newlon stated in her report to the village. "Parking counts from the top level of the deck also showed that it was not being used to its fullest capacity."   

The village's Parking Operations Group reviewed the operation of the top level of the deck and recommended that daily fee parking be expanded and simplified. Specific changes include:   

• Allow daily fee parking on Level 5 of the deck beginning at 5 a.m., consistent with Levels 3 and 4;

• Reduce the number of dedicated Lot S permit spaces from 100 to 40 spaces to reflect the current number of Lot S permit holders;

• Eliminate Lot S permits through attrition. Move Lot S permit holders to other lots as space becomes available and eventually eliminate permit parking on Level 5 of the deck.   

Newlon also addressed the issue of commuter motorcycle parking spaces downtown.

According to her report, the east side of Forest Avenue south of Burlington Avenue was striped and signed to accommodate approximately seven commuter motorcycle parking spaces. This area was being used for all-day parking—mostly during favorable weather—and was unavailable for other short-term parking uses. 

To expand parking, village officials have designated covered motorcycle parking within the parking deck, which is more appropriate for all-day parking, Newlon said. The change was made without displacing other parking users in the deck and allows for three additional three-hour public parking spaces to be designated on Forest Avenue, she said.  

The specific recommended Code changes include:  

• Designate 17 motorcycle spaces in the parking deck; and

• Convert seven motorcycle spaces on Forest Avenue to 3-Hour spaces. 

These items were presented at the Sept. 12 Transportation and Parking Commission meeting, during which the commission voted unanimously to approve staff's proposals. The village council will formally vote on the ordinance during their Oct. 16 board meeting.

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