New Chicago-Based App Could Help Soothe Winter Parking Woes

By Stephen Gossett in News on Dec 14, 2016 7:27PM

Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist

Winter is in full, frigid swing, which means that parking—even more than usual—is squarely on the brain. Remnants of the weekend blizzard have been more or less shoveled out of the way, but the dibs vs. no-dibs debate has nevertheless re-raged, especially among those poor souls without off-street parking (i.e. most of us).

But a relatively new Chicago-based startup, ParqEx, has been working on a workaround. The app, which is headquartered in the West Loop and launched last year, allows users who have an unused parking space to it rent it out to those who need one, thereby sparing us all the indignity of so many patio-set-strewn streets.

“We work with individuals, businesses, condo owners, anyone who has a private parking spot they want to list,” said Dan Bernstein, a marketing associate.

Owners dictate the price for their spaces, which vary depending on demand; and can set hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly rates. In the high-demand West Loop, for instance you might see $3 to $5 hourly rates and between $180 and 250 for “monthly, secure indoor parking,” Bernstein said.

As we suspected, winter does mean bigger business, especially in terms of short-term parking. “ We definitely do see a spike in transient-parking use. Fewer people want to bike; and fewer people want to wait for the train. So you can book spots on a daily basis close to work… or whatever destination.” Still, the majority of users are monthly, which would also correspond to a winter surge, even as Bernstein expects daily and hourly will eventually surpass monthly use as word of mouth spreads and the app expands.

So far most the most popular neighborhoods are trendy North Side and Near North spots (West Loop, Wicker Park, Ravenswood, Streeterville). But ParqEx is seeing growth in other places with “huge demand and few garage options,” as well, Bernstein added.

And anywhere, we assume, people want to throw a dibs marker in the dustbin but fear retaliation.