Dear Irving Families,

I understand and appreciate that the snow and frigid temperatures we have experienced this week have created a variety of challenges for all us, especially when traveling to and from school. However, I am writing to remind everyone that parking on the west side of the Cuyler in front of the building is prohibited. This space is specifically reserved for loading and unloading our buses.

When other vehicles occupy this space, it poses a serious safety risk for our students, staff, parents/guardians and neighbors. In fact, just this morning, the added congestion on the block led to an accident involving two of our buses. While nobody was injured and there was only minor damage to the vehicles, we can avoid these types of incidents in the future if we follow the posted signage. In addition, the Oak Park Police Department has informed us that vehicles that are illegally parked in this area moving forward will be ticketed.

We ask that you please adhere to the parking guidelines that have been established by the Village of Oak Park in cooperation with our school and the district. These guidelines are as follows:

1. There are no parking restrictions on Cuyler, (from Garfield to Roosevelt) except for the loading zone for the buses that is located in front of the school. There are also no parking restrictions on Ridgeland (from Harvard to Roosevelt).

2. To ease congestion on Cuyler, we recommend carpooling and public transportation. We also ask that you avoid taking up every spot on the block as a courtesy to the neighbors who live directly across the street from the school. If you see that there are only one or two spaces left on the block, please consider driving to the next block on Cuyler or to Ridgeland.

3. Please make sure you check all of the posted signage on streets surrounding the school before parking your vehicle. For example, Ridgeland is a no parking zone in the winter when the snow is more than two inches deep.

4. When snow is in the forecast, we recommend calling the Village’s parking hotline at 708-358-7275 and pressing “1” for a message regarding snow parking bans. These messages are updated on a daily basis at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. when it is snowing.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this issue. Thank you for your attention and cooperation regarding this important safety matter.

 

Regards,

John Hodge

Principal