Know what people don’t like? Chicago privatized parking meters. Now a public interest group is suing the city, claiming that Daley didn’t have the right to lease the meters to a private company for an “excessive period,” that that tax payer dollars shouldn’t go towards police to enforce meters owned by a private company. They also say that the city can’t force the Illinois Secretary of State to suspend licenses for failure to pay tickets issued at private meters.
privatization
By 4.9.09
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The Chicago Reader has an excellent time line of the events that produced the now-infamous privatized parking meter disaster. [Chicago Reader]
Parking Meter Revolt: Chicagoans Are Vandalizing Parking Meters In Protest!
By 3.25.09
The Chicago parking meter saga continues today with a post from theexpiredmeter.com, a blog about Chicago parking tickets and how to fight them. The post has photos of parking meters being spray painted, destroyed and otherwise defaced. Guess people aren’t too thrilled with paying 28 quarters for 2 hours in the Loop…
Are Chicagoans Rebelling Against The New Parking Meter Regime?
By 3.23.09
The evidence is purely anecdotal, but it seems that some unrest might be brewing in the City of Chicago. Now that the Mayor has leased the city’s parking meters to a company that jacked up the rates, people might be staying home rather than feed the meters — which now take as many as 28 quarters for 2 hours.
Chicago's Privatized Parking Meters Are An Epic Failure
By 3.20.09
The City of Chicago has gone ahead with a deal to lease the city’s parking meters to a company that raised the rates — and the results are reportedly tragic. It now costs 28 quarters to park for two hours in the Loop, which some say is causing the meters to fill up with quarters and break.
Chicago To Lease Parking Meters To A Company That Will Charge $6.50 An Hour?
By 12.3.08
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago is trying to get “quickie” approval for a proposal to privatize the city’s parking meters. Under the 75 year lease, Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters would be controlled by a partnership that includes Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and LAZ Parking. This partnership will, naturally, raise prices. Critics of the proposal say that charging $6.50 an hour by 2013 to park downtown would hurt local businesses.
