Committee approves new parking plan for 100 block of S. Charles Street; no parking in front of Randall School

The Waukesha City Building & Grounds Committee on May 5 approved a change to parking on the 100 block of South Charles Street that removes parking directly in front of the Randall School property and establishes four-hour daytime parking on part of the east side of the block.

Committee members approved a motion to eliminate parking from College Avenue to the northern edge of the Randall property and to set 4-hour parking between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the east side from the northern edge of the Randall property to College Avenue; the portion of the block south of the Randall property line will remain unrestricted. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Neighbors and Carroll College faculty described why they sought changes. Beth Moulton, an alderman who brought the referral, said the change in use of the Randall School building from an elementary school to an academic building affects how residents and students will use the street. “We prefer the 4 hour parking. We think the change in the use of Randall School from an elementary school to a university materially changes the function of the streets,” Moulton said.

Resident Joe Ziegler, who lives at 125 South Charles Street and organized neighbors, said the group’s goal is “more flexibility for parking in front of our own houses,” and that a four-hour limit would give residents enough time for home visits, clubs and other activities without inviting all-day student parking. He told the committee he reviewed 10 years of police-service records for a nearby block with four-hour parking and found complaints unrelated to the four-hour restriction.

Jamie Kryskowski, a Carroll professor who said she may teach in the Randall building, urged keeping no-parking during the day directly in front of the building for emergency access if the structure becomes an academic facility. “That’s also an emergency vehicle access to the school and so I would definitely advocate for keeping it no parking during the day,” Kryskowski said, adding graduate programs could operate year-round.

Public Works staff presented a diagram showing current, overlapping time-of-day restrictions and recommended a two-hour rule from Sept. 1 to June 1, excluding weekends and holidays; staff said they would not object to a committee decision to instead adopt four-hour parking limited to 7 a.m.–4 p.m. The committee’s final motion differs from the engineering department’s initial recommendation.

Committee members discussed enforcement and the potential for confusion if multiple different restrictions exist on one block. Public Works said the proposal would simplify the existing mix of signs.

The committee’s motion — read into the record before the vote — directed staff to implement: no parking along the length of the Randall School property from College Avenue to the northern property edge; four-hour parking on the east side between the northern edge of the Randall property and College Avenue from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday–Friday; and to leave the portion of the block south of the Randall property unrestricted. The motion passed on a voice vote.

The committee did not set an effective date in the meeting; staff said signs and exact installation timing would be handled by Public Works and would be posted once the referral is implemented.

A separate concern raised during the discussion was neighborhood parking capacity if Carroll increases on-site academic activity. Carroll representatives said the college has campus lots and permits and that not all students drive or arrive at the same time. The committee discussion and the motion focused on on-street signage and enforcement, not on Carroll College’s internal parking plans.

The committee accepted the motion without amendments and closed the item; members and residents expressed satisfaction that the plan balanced resident needs, emergency access, and enforcement simplicity.