Several residents spoke out during Monday’s City Council meeting about traffic on residential streets from the new indoor soccer facility near Evanston Township High School.

More than 40 youth soccer teams organized by Team Evanston use the facility, 2025 Dempster St., when weather prevents the teams from playing outside, Team Evanston board member Lander Brown told The Daily in April.

Several residents said during citizen comment that parents have been dropping off their children on Grey Avenue and Greenwood Street toward the back of the building, causing traffic problems at the intersection.

Greenwood Street resident Linda Paternostro described the intersection as residential and ill-equipped to handle the traffic from the soccer facility.

“We don’t have any argument with Team Evanston itself,” she said during the meeting. “The only issue we have is that there could be alternatives to dropping off kids on the residential streets.”

Lon Porter, another resident who lives on Greenwood Street near the intersection, said he thought the increased traffic presented a safety concern.

“I think it’s scary how many cars it is, how often they’re going to be there,” he said. “It was a total surprise to us when we saw all these people being dropped off a few weeks ago. No one had talked to me about it. … It’s just not a safe situation.”

Team Evanston posted on its website after the facility opened saying it had received complaints about cars blocking residents’ parking spaces. The post asked parents to not double-park and to line up in the same direction as other cars when dropping off children on Greenwood Street.

The center opened in April to the praise of Team Evanston officials and Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd).

(New indoor space allows for year-long soccer programming)

“We wanted to provide a true, effective year-round soccer experience,” Team Evanston board president Matt Tobin told The Daily in April. “It’s a tremendous asset for the current community we serve.”

Braithwaite said it concerned him that some residents who live near the facility had not heard about it before it opened. He said the issue would be discussed at a June 19 community meeting at 7 p.m. at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave.

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