Grand Crossing Residents Fit To Be Tied With Megachurch-Goers Tying Up Parking
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A megachurch is being blamed for mega-headaches in the South Side's Grand Crossing neighborhood.
People living near the New Life Covenant Church Southeast are fed up with congestion and illegal parking. CBS 2's Steven Graves took concerns straight to the church and the alderman.
Sundays bring joy for the many who attend the church, but for others, it brings just the opposite.
"They're frustrations and annoyances," said Valerie Eleby. "I prepare myself to wait until all church services are over."
That is the only time Eleby can park at her home near New Life Covenant Church at 1021 E. 78th St.
It's not that Eleby is against the thousands of people attending church – on the contrary, she said she thinks that's a "great thing" – but she does want respect.
"The people in the neighborhood want to be guaranteed a place to park," Eleby said.
The church promises more parking once the new church is complete nearby on Greenwood Avenue.
The problem is that the new church building is only partially complete after five years. Meanwhile, the congestion concerns just keep bubbling up.
One neighbor gave video to CBS 2 showing a Sunday morning traffic jam was afraid to speak out because of possible backlash.
The same goes for another neighbor who put these orange cones out on the street – which end up getting removed by churchgoers looking to park. The problem has everyone searching for a solution that is not proving easy.
CBS 2 saw traffic mitigation from the church last Sunday, as they placed their own cones and signs.
The church's pastor, the Rev. John Hannah, denied us an interview. But he did take to social media – also frustrated after exhausting efforts.
"You can't make grown people do anything," Hannah said in a video posted to Facebook. "I can stand at the pulpit and say, 'Look, don't park there,' but people are going to do what they want to do."
CBS 2 pushed the office of Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) about enforcement. The office gave citation numbers over the past three Sundays.
The tickets increased from five one week to 12 on the next on one street – and then to 27 when officers cracked down even more and expanded their efforts.
With everyone seemingly at a loss for alternate solutions, neighbors say, as Eleby put it, "Try harder."
The alderman now promises a meeting with the church and the community in the near future.
CBS 2 continues to look into an update on the church's construction. The church website said it will be done this year.