Active Trans on the Parking Meter Lease

Active Transportation Alliance (formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation) has posted this:

The privatization of Chicago’s parking meters puts the region’s future in a precarious position related to transportation, urban planning, congestion and overall quality of life, according to an analysis released today by the Active Transportation Alliance.

The analysis, “Unrealized Assets: How leasing control of parking meters limits the future of active transport and innovative urban planning,“ identifies the overarching impact: when the City gave up control of collecting revenue from parking meters, it also gave up all control of the public right of way on any streets with parking meters. See the full report here.

This limits any potential projects that use streets with metered spaces: bus rapid transit, bicycle lanes, street festivals, sidewalk expansion, streetscaping, pedestrian bulb-outs, loading zones, rush hour parking control, mid-block crossing, and temporary open spaces. The City’s ability to use streets in fresh, people-centric ways is now dictated, controlled and limited by the arrangements and penalties within the parking meters lease.

Take heart, though.  We've lost control for a mere 75 freakin' years.

Comments

[Shannon]

This is unbelievable. I hope everyone who voted for this legislation gets booted out of office next election (Daley at the top of the list). What a terrible deal for the people of Chicago.