Ventura 21 residents press Roselle board for permit parking and speed enforcement on Devon Avenue

At the Dec. 2 meeting of the Roselle Village Board, Ventura 21 residents urged the village to act on two neighborhood safety and access issues.

Alyssa Neitzke, who identified herself as a Ventura 21 resident, Medina Park District board president and Ventura 21 board secretary, asked the board to consider a permit-parking program for Devon Avenue between Plum Grove and Ventura Club Drive. Neitzke said many townhomes were built in the 1970s with only two on-street spaces per unit, but modern households often have more vehicles. She said the village currently allows on-street parking “3 nights out of every 30 days,” which she called insufficient for households with multiple drivers and visiting guests. Neitzke handed the board a written proposal that offered monthly and temporary weekly permits, snow-emergency considerations and other options; she said the plan also would provide a modest revenue source to the village now that village stickers were discontinued.

Mohammed Sal, another Ventura 21 resident, told the board that drivers frequently speed on Devon Avenue near four or five school bus stops and said the hazard was most acute in mornings and afternoons when children wait for buses. He asked the board to consider additional patrols, speed mitigation or other enforcement. The chair noted the police chief was present and would follow up. Members also said automated speed cameras are not permitted outside the City of Chicago under current law, limiting that option.

The board did not vote on any parking policy at the meeting but directed staff to take a closer look at the proposal and return with recommendations in late January or early February. The chair asked staff to contact Neitzke and the Ventura 21 association to keep them informed.