Joliet sets residential parking limit on Cora St.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved a residential parking permit for a block of Cora Street where residents say they’re street parking is taken up by customers and employees from a supermercado on the corner.

The council voted 7-1 to require residential permits to park in the 800 block of Cora while voicing doubts that the restriction will resolve the issue.

But they said something needed to be done.

“I think what we’re trying to do is come up with some sort of plan so the residents have somewhere to park,” Council Member Joe Clement said.

Both the houses and the businesses on nearby Ruby Street were built in an era that preceded modern parking requirements, leaving a space crunch for both Cora Street residents and customers of Carmitas Don Jose y Supermercado.

The store does a carry-out food business that does especially well on weekends, when parking is the biggest problem.

“I was down there on Sunday driving up and down Ruby Street, and Ruby Street was packed,” Council Member Jan Quillman said.

Artemio Reyes, one of the store owners, pointed out a likely problem with the residential parking restriction.

“Common sense will say reducing the number of parking spots does not solve the parking problem,” Reyes told the council. “It’s going to create another one.”

Cora Street residents petitioned the city for the parking restriction.

Council members said they were torn on the matter because they want the business to be successful.

Council Member Cesar Guerrero, the one no vote on the parking restriction, said the city should first enforce the parking restrictions on Cora Street that apparently are being violated now before creating new restrictions.

“There are already signs in the area designating no-parking,” Guerrero said. “What I’m hearing is that we need enforcement for laws that are already in place.”

Council members said they may need to review the matter again in a few months.