Aldermen, Business Owners: Free Sunday Parking Wreaking Havoc On Businesses
By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 10, 2013 9:30PM
Remember earlier this year when Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the changes to the parking meter deal and how he said he was “trying to make a little lemonade from a big lemon” (that would then be handed to Chicago Parking Meters LLC for consumption)? Some aldermen and business owners are crying foul about one of the centerpieces of the deal.
Free Sunday parking has resulted in some wards in low meter turnover to the point where some businesses are complaining about losing customers because they can’t find parking in order to shop. Our pal Mike “The Expired Meter” Brockway has the deets over at DNAInfo Chicago.
Kevin Vaughn, owner of a handful of restaurants and bars, including Lakeview's Mystic Celt and Vaughn's Pub, said he was trying to find parking outside one of his businesses early Sunday morning and most of the metered spots were filled — a problem that began after free Sunday parking began."Eighty percent of the spots were filled at 8 a.m.," Vaughn said. "In Lakeview, Sunday is the second busiest commercial business day of the week. Ultimately [free metered parking] is bad for business."
Emanuel insisted on free Sunday parking as integral to the amended deal but business leaders and local chambers of commerce lobbied aldermen behind the scenes to have it struck from consideration. They argued that heavy traffic retail districts relied on the turnover of metered parking spots to facilitate business. (Based on Vaughn's complaints they were right.)
Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton, the city’s top lawyer, assured aldermen that metered parking would remain in their wards if they wished but Libby Prakel, chief of staff for Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), said they’ve heard nothing from the Emanuel administration since the amended deal was approved in June. "Of course we've been talking to the mayor's office and asking what's happening,” Prakel said. “We're frustrated as well."
Chalk this up as another example of the Emanuel administration not being completely forthcoming on city business where they promised complete transparency, folks.
Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd) said he’s also been waiting for word from Patton on bringing back paid Sunday parking to his ward but “I think they're going to ignore it because they think the deal will just go away.”
Waguespack, Smith and Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) filed requests in June to bring back paid Sunday parking to their wards. Waguespack told DNAInfo one reason the Emanuel administration is ignoring the request is because approving it would re-open the deal to a new round of scrutiny and highlight weaknesses in the re-negotiated contract.
Vaughn said the free Sunday parking makes for near-untenable situations.
"People want to park for free, so they will circle the block for 20 minutes to find that free spot. Residents in Lakeview rent parking spaces during Cubs games for 20 bucks. Why would you pay 20 bucks if you can park for free? All we're doing is creating congestion on the second-busiest commercial day of the week. It's a quality-of-life issue."