Residents in the 800 block of Cora Street in Joliet, won’t have to worry about where they will park.
A resident read a letter written by her father detailing $4,000 in damages his truck incurred following an accident at the busy corner of Cora and Ruby streets she says is heavily used by delivery trucks.
“It is difficult to exit our own street because of this,” she said. “Residential parking permits will definitely help.”
The Joliet City Council Tuesday by a vote of 7-1 approved the area as a residential permit parking block. The 800 block of Cora Street intersects with Ruby Street where there is an auto repair shop and the Carnitas Don Jose Y Supermercado at the northwest corner. There are 24 residential properties along the block, including three three-unit buildings and one three-unit structure.
City Councilman at-large Cesar Guerrero was the only person to vote against the ordinance. Currently, he said parking is not allowed on the street for customers of nearby businesses and suggests better enforcement of the rule by police. But residents claim not only do employees and customers park on Cora Street, but also the auto repair shop keeps some of the cars waiting to have repairs done on the residential street.
“Compromise might be to limit parking availability on the street to a time limit,” said Guerrero.
Councilwoman Bettye Gavin agreed with Guerrero.
“It is going to open up a whole different can of worms,” she said.
Gavin also agreed with Councilwoman Jan Quillman who suggests revisiting the ordinance in two to three months to see if it is working or not.
Councilman Joe Clement, who was amongst those to vote for the residential parking permit ordinance, said, “The residents need somewhere to park. They have nowhere to park.”
But a representative for the grocery store said making the street residential parking only will not entirely solve the problem.
“Reducing the number of parking spots does not eliminate the parking problem,” he said. “It will create another one.”
The residential parking permit ordinance will be enforced by the Joliet Police Department. To obtain a residential parking permit, residents must renew their permit annually by filling out a form that includes their names, address, and vehicle information for each car at the address. There is permit fee for renewing the permit and there is not a limit on the amount of stickers that can be issued per address.