Come Out and Pay at the Lake
No more free parking at Lake Michigan
By ZACH CHRISTMAN
Updated 1:18 PM CST, Tue, Jul 28, 2009
Just when you thought a cheap trip to the lakefront would be a nice alternative to going out of town for the 4th of July, the Chicago Park District has decided to turn thousands of free parking spaces into pay spots.
That's right -- you'll now have to shell out $1 an hour to park anywhere near Chicago's lakefront. Some beaches, like North Avenue, have been charging as much as $8 an hour to park for years, but this new plan would turn every lakefront curb and lot spot under the Park District's jurisdiction into a pay spot.
With the city's parking boondoggle already making aldermen and the mayor look bad -- lots of local politicians are jumping on the chance to criticize the parking district's choice to make some cash off its own parking spots. Some are saying such a plan flies in the face of Daniel Burnham's idea that Chicago's green spaces and lakefront should be for everyone -- not just everyone who can pay to park.
Late Wednesday, the City Council called for a public hearing to debate the Park District parking fees -- but apart from political leverage, aldermen don't have much power to force the Park District to abandon its pay parking plan.
The Park District said its revenues have been falling, and it needs $400 million a year to operate. It estimates the parking plan would bring in $700,000 a year.
Tim Mitchell, the Park District superintendent, said it's only fair. This way, only people who use the lakefront would have to pay to maintain it, instead of trying to get the funding out of a citywide tax.
First Published: Jul 1, 2009 6:32 PM CST
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