BHS Parking Evaluation

Current Status - Updated 12/24/25

At their December 2nd meeting, the Board of Education approved Option #5 (Main Street lot) and Option #6 (Bus parking lot) reconfigurations and asked the administration to submit appropriate plans to the village.
The Board of Education has asked the administration to further explore Option #4b (expanding Admin Center parking).
As it pertains to Option #7 (expansion of the Lincoln Lot), on December 23rd, the Board voted to reconsider its previously approved contract for the purchase of four properties along Main & Hager, nullifying this option.

Read below for more comprehensive information.

For years, the district has received consistent feedback that there is not enough parking at BHS. This comes up on an annual basis as parking passes are sold, and a number of families even pay nearby homes and businesses for parking privileges for their high schooler. There are also frequent parking challenges during fine arts productions, athletic events, and other instances where people struggle to find parking. Similar feedback has been obtained during focus groups for the Build 220 and Transform 220 projects.

Barrington 220 is slated to build a new community auditorium with increased seating capacity and anticipate that it will compound the parking issue the high school faces for special events and daily usage. With all of this in mind, the board and administration have an interest in solving this issue. Below are an overview of 7 options presented to the Board of Education for its consideration:

Options Considered:

#1a & #1b - Expansion of Southwest Campus Parking
#2- Creation of Single-Story Parking Deck
#3- Creation of Hart Road Field Parking Lot
#4a & #4b - Expansion of Admin Center Parking Lot
#5 - Reconfiguration of Main St. Parking Lot
#6 - Reconfiguration of Bus Parking Lot
#7 - Expansion of Lincoln Parking Lot

Presentations & Meetings (click tabs for details)

December 8, 2025 Neighborhood Meeting

NOTE: This neighborhood meeting was not recorded. We will share the slides prepared for the meeting, but at the neighbors' request, this was conducted as a large group discussion and did not involve small group breakouts.

Slides presented at neighborhood meeting

After repeated public comment surrounding this project, the Board of Education scheduled a meeting with neighbors near Barrington High School to listen to their concerns about the pending purchase and possible development of the four properties near the high school. This meeting was attended by Board members Bradford & Altshuler, Dr. Winkelman, and several administrators.

The Board had four questions we wanted their feedback on:

What are your biggest concerns about home acquisition and redevelopment?
Given the board’s objectives, what outcomes would you feel are acceptable to or respectful of the neighborhood?
What do you want the board to understand about your block/community?
What is your feedback on the proposed Lincoln Lot parking design?

Over the next 90 minutes or so, the group walked through these questions and we heard a number of thoughts from residents. The overall consensus is that they do not want the district to purchase the properties and build parking of any kind. We heard some interesting ideas from neighbors, like using one of the properties for educational purposes and adding green spaces, which we said we would explore further. President Bradford and Dr. Altshuler reminded the group that, as two board members, we could not make any commitments or declarative statements that evening, but would compile and share this information with the rest of the board.

Dr. Winkelman informed the neighbors that, to allow time for this additional conversation and consideration, the initial plans Barrington 220 intended to bring before the Village Planning Commission had been modified to not currently include any changes to the Lincoln Lot part of the property. As of now, Barrington 220 still intends to purchase the properties, but will continue to analyze our path forward in what the final use and plans for them end up being. The Board of Education also promised to further engage the neighborhood when we are ready to explore the path forward with these properties.

December 2, 2025 Board Presentation

See the presentation slides here.
Watch this portion of the meeting here.

The board furthered the discussion from their last meeting about exploring potential opportunities for additional parking at Barrington High School.

As previously stated, for years, the board and district has received consistent feedback that there is not enough parking at BHS. This comes up on an annual basis as parking passes are sold, and a number of families even pay nearby homes and businesses for parking privileges for their high schooler. There are also frequent parking challenges during fine arts productions, athletic events, and other instances where when visitors have difficulty finding available spaces. Similar feedback has been obtained during focus groups for the Build 220 and Transform 220 projects. With all of this in mind, the board and administration are exploring different options to provide additional parking.

The board walked through the seven different potential options presented at the previous meeting to increase parking at BHS and gave guidance to the administration as follows:

Options 1a & 1b are put on hold and may be revisited at a later date.
Options 2, 3, & 4a should not proceed forward.
Option 4b, 5 & 6 should be further explored.
Option 7 should be explored but will require additional follow-up.

If all of the "explored" options below end up being built, it would net BHS approximately 165 additional parking spaces.

Chart showing the various parking options considered by the Barrington 220 Board of Education at BHS.

The Board is still slated to purchase property on Hager Avenue in the coming weeks near Barrington High School, but will further explore how that land fits into the overall picture, be it for parking or for other means. The Board has stated that they are not actively seeking to acquire any more properties along North Hager Avenue or directly next to the school at this time and are committed to incorporating feedback from the community as we work through this process.

November 18, 2025 Board Presentation

See the presentation slides here.
Watch this portion of the meeting here.

Over the last two years, we have examined a number of options to address these parking concerns. Options studied included: additional southwest campus parking, a single story parking deck, a lot in the field at Hart Road, adding to the Admin Center lot, expanding the Main Street parking lot, reconfiguring the bus parking lot, and expanding the Lincoln parking lot. You can see the diagrams of these plans from a presentation given to the Board of Education on November 18, 2025.

After examining the many options and evaluating a number of factors, it was determined that three options were potentially viable when considering parking safety, student safety, accessibility, an impact on programming, and timeline.

Parking study at BHS

This plan would net an approximate gain of 117 parking spaces at the high school, which would also support the upcoming renovation of the community auditorium, which is expected to have increased seating.

Dr. Winkelman did note, citing public comment and concerns, that the district is not actively seeking to acquire any more properties along Hager Avenue or directly next to the school at this time. The Board of Education and administration are committed to incorporating feedback from the community as we work through this process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the Board of Education exploring additional parking opportunities at BHS?

As mentioned above, for years, the board and district has received consistent feedback that there is not enough parking at BHS. This comes up on an annual basis as parking passes are sold, and a number of families even pay nearby homes and businesses for parking privileges for their high schooler. There are also frequent parking challenges during fine arts productions, athletic events, and other instances where visitors have difficulty finding available spaces. Similar feedback has been obtained during focus groups for the Build 220 and Transform 220 projects.

As work is slated to be done on the BHS campus in the coming years with Transform 220, including the construction of a community auditorium with increased seating capacity, the board has asked the administration to explore all potential possibilities to expand parking on and adjacent to the Barrington High School campus.

How many additional parking spaces will the Board of Education's approved plans create?

It is anticipated that proceeding with Option #5 could produce up to 50 parking spots for daily usage.

Proceeding with Option #6 could provide up to an additional 27 spots, but as those spots are used by school buses during the day, would only be available for event parking and special circumstances.

The board is still looking at Options #4b and #7, as mentioned above, and has directed the administration to examine those further and continue to analyze potential parking opportunities.

It is important to note that all parking plans submitted by the Board of Education are not considered final and are subject to the review process by the Village of Barrington and/or other appropriate entities.

On September 17th: Dr. Carpenter, Ms. Lager, and Ms. Satera met with neighbors and answered questions about the proposed Walnut Grove project
On September 29th: the district officially submitted plans to the Village of Barrington Plan Commission
On November 4th: Dr. Carpenter, Ms. Lager, and Ms. Satera met with another group of neighbors and answered questions about the proposed Walnut Grove project
On December 1st: Dr. Winkelman and President Bradford met with neighbors at their property to discuss the district's plans and answer questions they had about the process.
On December 2nd: Dr. Winkelman and President Bradford held another meeting with neighbors at their property similar in nature to the one above.
On December 8th: President Bradford, Dr. Altshuler, Superintendent Winkelman, and other district officials held a meeting in the board room with concerned neighbors to answer questions and get their feedback about the proposed project and have a conversation about other potential uses for the property.
On December 10th, Dr. Carpenter led a virtual community meeting with homeowners within 250 feet of the proposed work to be done in future years at Barrington High School. This was required by the Village of Barrington as part of the approval process for these projects. Any discussion of parking in the Lincoln Lot was not introduced by the administration at this meeting.

Moving forward, the Board of Education has committed to continuing to gather feedback around potential options.

In This Section

BHS Parking Evaluation

Current Status - Updated 12/24/25

Presentations & Meetings (click tabs for details)

December 8, 2025 Neighborhood Meeting

December 2, 2025 Board Presentation

November 18, 2025 Board Presentation

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the Board of Education exploring additional parking opportunities at BHS?

How many additional parking spaces will the Board of Education's approved plans create?

Will the Board of Education seek to create any additional parking beyond these plans?

Does this parking work impact the timeline of any of the other Transform 220 projects?

Has the district met with neighbors concerning parking plans?

Is the district planning on purchasing any other properties in the neighborhood?