Heyday of Illegal Parking Comes to an End

By Alicia Dorr in News on Mar 7, 2007 7:37PM

Due to the U.S. General Services Administration's recent request of Chicago, we're going to have to change our ideal "crime" from intoxicated walking to allowing a street to become "a haven for illegal parking."

While we realize that this is not an activity or crime per se, it was what caused the City Council's Transportation Committee to OK plans to convert part of a South Loop street to a pedestrian walkway. West Quincy Street between State Street and the Dirksen federal building and an alley (accessible from Adams, Jackson, State and Dearborn) will be off-limits to anyone seeking an illegal parking fix.

The illegal parking is only the surface of the issue, however; the GSA will be creating a "security bubble" around the federal campus and its forthcoming addition at the 200 block of South State. Apparently this portion of Quincy, which is bounded by federal property, is used almost exclusively for illegal parking. GSA officials claim that parking laws are rarely enforced on the strip and, while the federal government doesn't want to be a party pooper, they see it as a security risk.

So what was once an oasis of free parking in the cramped South Loop will be a place for frolicking, running and calmly walking pedestrians. Which means that there is that much more potential to see someone walking around drunk.

Image via gsa.gov.