Another Parking Lot Modification Likely in Fall

Libertyville residents will likely see another parking lot modification as soon as fall. Cook Memorial Public Library board voted 5-2 to widen the current Brainerd entrance at Tuesday’s board meeting.

The approval will widen the Brainerd entrance to make it an entrance for northbound and southbound traffic, and an exit for northbound traffic only. Church street exit will remain as is, and will close for village events subject to library board approval.

Library trustees Bonnie Quirke, Tom Milowski, Karen Broms, Ann Oakley and Wendy Vieth voted yes to widen the entrance; trustees Nathan Johnson and Mary Ann Phillips voted no.

Some of the yes votes were reluctant compromises. Quirke described her vote as a "depressed yes."

Johnson told the board that widening the Brainerd access point and allowing two-way traffic would not neccesarily be safer than the current parking lot configuration. He was also concerned about the temporary closing of the Church street exit.

"At events such as Libertyville Days, people will only be able to exit on Brainerd at a time when there's incrased foot traffic," Johnson said during the meeting.

Phillips told the board that shutting the Church street exit to accomodate village events and a beer garden did not seem like a fair compromise.

"I can’t comprehend why the beer garden has to be [on Church street], it will grow anywhere," Phillips said during the meeting.

Despite the reluctance, the library board has approved widening the Brainerd access point. The village, which requested the changes to accommodate for village events, will pay for the constructions. The village board has already authorized an estimated $5,000 for modifying the library’s lot.

At January’s library board meeting, Mayor Terry Weppler said if the widening is approved work will likely start in fall, when most of the village’s outdoors events have taken place.

Trustees unanimously approved an additional motion that makes the library board’s approval contingent on meeting all conditions set. Some of the conditions are: to include a permanent island at the Brainerd access point that forces all exiting traffic to head north; and to have appropriate signage for library patrons.

Construction is expected to take anywhere from one to three weeks.

“This board would like coordination of all parking lot changes, with enough notice for patrons that the lot will be closed for as short as seven days and maybe as much as three weeks,” said Bonnie Quirk, president of the Cook Memorial Library Board.