The Avenue Garage, just blocks away from Oak Park and River Forest High School, could accommodate some of the school’s faculty if OPRF’s parking structure at Lake Street and Scoville Avenue is replaced by a new pool facility, according to results of a study commissioned by the school board.

The Avenue Garage at North Boulevard and Oak Park Avenue has 518 total parking spaces, while OPRF’s garage has 300 spaces. During school hours, the Avenue Garage is 65 percent full, with a total of 335 spaces in use, according to the study conducted by Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Aboona, Inc. 

As part of its deliberations on a new pool facility site, which includes OPRF’s parking garage, the District 200 school board in August hired the firm to study parking and traffic congestion around the school.

OPRF’s parking garage, which was built in 2002 and is owned by the village while OPRF owns the land, is 90 percent full during the school day, with 280 spaces in use, according to the Rosemont-based firm. 

The Avenue Garage’s remaining 183 spaces could be used by OPRF faculty, according to the firm, which also looked at available street parking surrounding the school. 

If the parking garage goes, the closest and most available on-street parking spaces for staff would be blocks away from the school at Chicago and Ridgeland avenues, the firm noted. The immediate streets surrounding the building — Scoville, Erie, Lake and Linden — are currently used by either students or staff.  

Prior to the garage’s construction, parking around the building for staff, students and faculty was highly-congested, neighbors and school officials acknowledge. 

The D200 board was unable to decide on a pool site in September, when the parking study results were also released. A board ad hoc pool committee is currently reexamining all of the current site locations as well as new ones. The committee is expected to review the full parking study at an upcoming meeting. 

The parking garage is a desired location for a pool site by some community members and board members. At the board’s Sept. 23 meeting, some members expressed concern for faculty if the garage was chosen.

Board member Jackie Moore preferred building on the parking garage site. But if that site had been chosen, she urged the school to come up with a safety plan for faculty having to walk at night to the Avenue Garage. Board member Jeff Weissglass expressed a similar concern. Steven Gevinson is opposed to building on the parking garage, arguing that faculty needs to be able to park close to where they work. 

Along with faculty, the garage is used by the public during OPRF campus sporting events.

Board President John Phelan and Weissglass noted that the Illinois High School Association requires public parking for schools hosting games or meets. 

Weissglass said that’s something the school would have to figure out if the parking garage is chosen for a pool site.