Sixth Ward Newsletter

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What is a Parking Space Worth?

As your alderman, it is extremely important to me that each and every resident in the 6th Ward is receiving fair and equitable treatment by our city. After talking with several residents about the congested parking situation that affects all our quality of lives, I sought, and am still seeking information from our city offices about some unique parking designations in our ward.

On most residential streets in the 6th Ward parking is free and open to all. A few streets on the east end of the 6th Ward have early morning restrictions designed to stave off commuter parking.

But on one, and only one block in the 6th Ward, residents have the benefit of Resident Only parking. Why does only one block benefit from this special designation? That is a question I recently asked of city staff. Unfortunately, little to no information appears in city records regarding this decision to give one block preferential treatment while neighboring blocks deal with parking congestion.

The block is not uniquely narrow and is comparable in width with other two-way streets that allow for open parking. Nor is the block uniquely crowded; during a parking survey conducted in 2011, the block was 70% occupied, the magic number for eligibility for a Resident Only Zone, for only one two-hour period in two weeks of study. Furthermore, according to the most recent capacity study, this block can hold 47 cars. On this particular block there are 23 registered cars. Even if every single registered vehicle were parked on the street, there would still be more unoccupied spaces than occupied spaces.

Of particular interest is how this unique situation benefitting one block represents such a stark economic inequality when compared with the rest of the City. The City of Evanston has decided that six days a week between 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m., a metered space on Central Street is worth $1 an hour. But residents on our one “special” block pay a mere $15 annual fee on top of the $75 wheel tax that all of us pay. That adds up to $345 of revenue that the City of Evanston collects in exchange for 3120 hours of restricted parking. Setting aside the cost of enforcement, the City of Evanston collects $0.11 per hour TOTAL for an entire block adjacent to Central Street. Each registered vehicle represents just $0.004 an hour in revenue.

In a city where we are facing another difficult budget year, do you think a citywide survey of all restricted parking zones is warranted? I do.

I proposed such a review at the end of Evanston City Council’s April 30, 2018 meeting. Two of my colleagues, 3rd Ward Alderman and Transportation/Parking Committee Chairman Melissa Wynne and 4th Ward Alderman Don Wilson vehemently disagreed, insisting that a review of parking would be a waste of parking division staff time. A study about parking is a waste of the parking division’s time?

How can the City Council make informed decisions if we do not have complete information? The purpose of the parking division is…parking.  If that makes no sense to you, I ask that you contact my colleagues and encourage them to support a citywide parking survey.

I want to be clear that the residents who live on this one singled-out block deserve no blame for this situation. They followed the City of Evanston’s procedure for establishing the zone 10-4-5-2. - PARKING IN PREDOMINANTLY RESIDENTIAL AREAS. It is the City Council’s responsibility to make sure that our policies and procedures meet the needs of all Evanston residents in a fair and equitable way. I believe that we can do better across the entire City of Evanston.

I have requested a review of parking in the area bound by Harrison on the south, Hartzell on the north,  Central Park on the west and Ewing on the east. Meeting the parking needs of Central Street businesses in a way that minimizes the deleterious effects on all of the surrounding residents is an ongoing challenge. The last such review was done in 2011; I believe it is well past time for another.  

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss this matter with you. We all want to continue to make Evanston a great place to live, work and raise a family and we need to that in the most transparent way possible. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 847-859-7810 or by email at tsuffredin@cityofevanston.org.

Ward Meeting, Tuesday, June 5 

7th Ward Alderman Eleanor Revelle and I will be co-hosting a joint ward meeting at the Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd., on June 5, 2018 at 7 p.m. to discuss Priority Budgeting in preparation of the 2019 Budget and Evanston’s Capital Improvement Program.