About 20 short-term parking spaces would be added in the La Grange central business district under a plan discussed Monday night by the Village Board of Trustees.

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The spots would allow up to 15 minutes of parking for shoppers making quick visits to downtown businesses, and would also provide convenient spots for delivery trucks, said Patrick Benjamin, community planning director. He cited Blueberry Hill restaurant and Starbucks as examples.
"We have a lot of folks who want to jump in, grab a cup of coffee and get out," said Benjamin.
Many of the new spots would be located at the ends of existing street parking rows, said Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn.
"This way we can evenly distribute spaces and easily communicate the concept to shoppers and residents," he said.
The proposal resulted from a study the Village conducted with input from the La Grange Business Association and various downtown merchants.
Lori Garivaltis of the Pine Merchant custom furniture gallery was among downtown business owners who spoke at Monday's meeting in support of the proposal.
She said she personally conducted "an eyeopening survey" of businesses along W Calendar Ave between La Grange Rd and Ashland Ave and found that each had different needs that could be addressed by the five new short-term parking spaces proposed for that block.
Garavaltis said she learned that security during deliveries is a concern at Fey & Co Jewelers, while making it easy for parents to drop off and pick up their children was important for the Ceramic Arts Cafe, which hosts Saturday morning parties attended by as many as 70 kids. Loading and unloading catering trucks was an issue for La Belle Catering, she said.
"We have a very dire need for a loading zone in front of our store," Garavaltis said. "We have been ticketed delivering our own product into our store. My clients, some of whom travel from as far away as Lake Forest, Batavia and Chicago have been ticketed."
She said the new spots would help promote shopping in La Grange as "a very pleasant experience."
Trustee Michael Horvath asked if enforcement of the 15-minute limit presented any problems.
Police Chief Michael Holub responded that existing temporary parking zones "are not violated very frequently. We check them regularly and we get pretty good reports from our shop owners. If somebody is there longer, they call us right away."
Pilipiszyn said a formal ordinance would be drafted for consideration by Village Trustees at their next meeting, Oct. 23.