CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The city of Naperville and the Nichols Public Library are revisiting the issue of parking.
“Every single time we do a customer satisfaction survey, the No. 1 thing that people say is ‘parking at Nichols is really bad. Parking at Nichols is really bad. I hate parking at Nichols’,” said Executive Director Dave Della Terza. “I'm glad this is something we're looking at and that's being explored.”
A downtown parking feasibility study determined the site at 200 W. Jefferson Avenue would be a top priority, but plans were stalled in 2008.
Last week, City Engineer Andy Hynes presented new renderings of a four-level parking deck to the library’s board.
“The approved design includes a total of 501 parking spaces or a net increase of 371 spaces compared with the existing 130 space surface parking lot,” he said.
Hynes added most of the leg work is already done since the city already made a ‘considerable investment’ in the development of project plans with extensive public input.
He said he anticipates small changes to meet new code standards and additional public meetings, but says the biggest hurdle is funding.
“At this point, the city doesn't have any funding in our current fiscal year for any type of design work or anything,” Hynes said. “I think there's a strong interest in trying to get some external funding for this as well and that usually takes 6 to 12 months.”
The construction cost of the new parking deck was estimated at about $18 million in 2020.
An updated cost estimate is now $23.5 million.
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