Geneva's Best-Kept Parking Secret

Downtown Geneva's best-kept parking secret is a secret no more.

At Monday's City Council meeting, The Little Traveler (aka The Big Traveler) owner Mike Simon, once a member of the "erstwhile" Joint Parking Committee, suggested that the under-advertised and under-utilized parking lot between Campbell and James Street be turned into a lot for employees.

"We tried very hard to create parking for employees, with limited success," Simon said. "The lot (formally known as the Notollini property) was assigned for three-hour parking, and it’s not being used. In short, people don’t know the lot exists."

That might not be for long, however.

Public Works Director Dan Dinges told the City Council new signage would be going up with a couple weeks that points drivers to the new city lot.

City Council members said they'd consider expanding the lot's parking limit to an eight- or nine-hour time period, which would make it more accessible for downtown employees who don't want to leave work every three hours to move their cars.

But they weren't eager to do so right away.

"The winter is probably not a good time for visitors to find a new lot in town," 1st Ward Alderman Charles Brown said.

The question Monday night was how long to wait before an evaluation. City Administrator Mary McKittrick suggested the council give it a year to determine whether use picks up.

Third Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg suggested 60 days might be soon enough.

Craig Maladra 

"I think if you extend to eight hours, that lot certainly would be discovered in a hurry," he said. "Maybe in the next 60 days, we see what the occupancy is. If it’s underutilized by the end of May, we might want to see if we need to do something to stimulate usage. Where is the chamber on this issue?"

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jean Gaines said "there's no magic number" regarding the length of parking times in downtown Geneva. She acknowledged that the city has to do a better job finding parking options for employees, but she didn't want lots to be overrun by folks who ride the train. 

"You’ll always have that problem of commuters infiltrating our parking," she said. 

Third Ward Alderman Dawn Vogelsberg and 5th Ward Alderman Craig Maladra advocated waiting a longer period of time before further review.

"It was financed by the general fund, so all taxpayers in town paid for the lot, so I think all taxpayers should have a chance to use it," Maladra said. "I would like a thorough inventory of all the parking."

In the meantime, if you're looking for parking in downtown Geneva, there are some great spots between Campbell and James, Third and Second streets.