Officials reject chief’s parking plan for 11th Ave.

Commission upholds current ordinance after Kennedy Elementary School neighbors complain about safety, traffic
By 
JOE POIRIER
Ozaukee Press Staff

About a dozen people attended a Village Public Safety meeting on Tuesday to voice their opinion about a proposal to make 11th Avenue near Kennedy Elementary School a no parking zone during the school day.

Grafton Police Chief Charles Wenten proposed amending the village’s parking ordinance to make a no parking zone from Broad Street to Maple Street along 11th Avenue from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. during school days.

“It is chaotic,” Wenten said.

Grafton School District officials criticized the no-parking restriction at the meeting. Kennedy Elementary School Principal Craig Gunderson recommended keeping the parking situation status quo.

Gunderson said the no-parking restriction would impede access into the building during the school day for late students or parents visiting the building. He also said it would impact midday pickup and drop off for 4K students from 11:05 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.

School Board President Paul Lorge said the District worked with the village during its school facilities project last year to create better access for its front entrance and back parking lot for students to access the building.

Grafton Public Library Director John Hanson also opposed the parking restriction because 11th Avenue serves as the main entrance into the library.

“Each day, over 400 people visit our library. Although most of them use our parking lot on the east side of the building, along 12th Avenue, many use the 11th Avenue entrance,” he wrote in an email to the committee.

The issue was brought up at last month’s committee meeting, when 11th Avenue residents Larry and Anne Krueger expressed safety concerns with parking and traffic on their street. They said, during the school day, vehicles block their driveway and impede their field of vision. They also said children on bicycles do not look for traffic when utilizing the sidewalks and streets. 

The Kreugers believe school staff are parking on the street and not using the school’s parking lot. 

“The problem isn’t the late people. It’s the teachers that don’t want to walk from the parking lot to the school. We called the police three or five times last school year,” Larry Krueger said.

School officials said they will talk to the staff at the elementary school to make sure they utilize the school’s parking lot.

After discussion, the committee decided to amend Wenten’s recommendation to keep the street parking along 11th Avenue as is, voting 3-0. 

Committee Chairman Lisa Uribe Harbeck wants the Village Board to also weigh in on the matter and recommended discussing the issue at the next Village Board meeting on Monday, Aug. 19.

 

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