Several Sycamore residents on North Cross Street have issued complaints about NIU engineering students who are parking on the street instead of using the school’s designated parking lot.

Sycamore Mayor Redd Johnson said that on Mondays through Fridays for the last six weeks, about 20 students have been parking along an area of about two blocks of North Cross Street near the NIU School of Engineering. “We can’t have people parking on the street, it ruins the street and the grass near the curb,” Johnson said.

Bob Bornhuetter, NIU parking committee chairman, said “Maybe (the students) just refused to buy permit stickers (for the school’s lot).” He said he could not see that NIU was the cause of any problem.

Bornhuetter said he suspects that the students parking on the street are not full-time students and therefore do not want to purchase a $30 parking permit.

Jeff Clapsaddle, Sycamore 2nd Ward alderman, also said students might be parking in the street because it does not cost them anything.

Clapsaddle said that although it is not illegal to park on the street, the students are causing more than an annoyance to the residents who would rather park there themselves. He said that parts of North Cross are “rather narrow” and emergency vehicles would have a difficult time passing through it.

Johnson said that snow removal would be “impossible” if cars were parked along parts of the street. He said he has made a proposal to the Sycamore City Council to install “no parking” signs to make the street parking illegal.

If the signs were to be installed, students parking in the zone would be issued $5 tickets for their first offense and $25 thereafter, Johnson said. He said the city’s Streets and Walks Committee is studying the issue.

Robert Binder, committee chairman, said he and three other committee members will observe the area at different times throughout the next two weeks.

Binder said that after the committee comes to a decision, members will bring it to the council meeting Oct. 24. “If we don’t feel (the parking) is a problem, no signs will be posted.”

Sycamore does not blame the students for the problem, Binder said. He said he wants to work with students on the issue because he knows college students are “pressed for money.”

Even if the “no parking” signs are posted, students still might park in the street, Binder said. He said the $5 parking ticket from the city still is less expensive than the $20 fine from the university for illegally parking in the school’s lot.