Comments on: The New Parking Meters and The Chicago Economy http://www.thechicago77.com/2010/02/the-new-parking-meters-and-the-chicago-economy/ Comprehensive Chicago Real Estate Information Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:18:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Life After The Home Buyer Tax Credit | The Chicago 77 http://www.thechicago77.com/2010/02/the-new-parking-meters-and-the-chicago-economy/#comment-2047 Life After The Home Buyer Tax Credit | The Chicago 77 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:53:25 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=2831#comment-2047 [...] of it like this: Joe Smith gets a parking ticket for parking on the North side of the street during the second harvest moon of a leap year (Joe lives in [...] [...] of it like this: Joe Smith gets a parking ticket for parking on the North side of the street during the second harvest moon of a leap year (Joe lives in [...]

]]> By: Bob S http://www.thechicago77.com/2010/02/the-new-parking-meters-and-the-chicago-economy/#comment-1769 Bob S Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:40:14 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=2831#comment-1769 Wow, how lazy are you? You decided not to buy your $3.00 latte at Starbucks because you had to walk half a block? I guess this meter deal has really put the hurt on over weight yuppies. What was the City thinking! Wow, how lazy are you? You decided not to buy your $3.00 latte at Starbucks because you had to walk half a block? I guess this meter deal has really put the hurt on over weight yuppies. What was the City thinking!

]]> By: Steven http://www.thechicago77.com/2010/02/the-new-parking-meters-and-the-chicago-economy/#comment-1762 Steven Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:14:17 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=2831#comment-1762 Higher costs of driving are most certainly bad for Chicago. People with cars tend to have more income and spend more than those that cannot afford them. Raise costs for the biggest spenders who happen to have the most mobility and they will go elsewhere. Thanks to the higher costs of parking (including on Sundays) and the higher Cook County sales tax, I no longer spend money in Chicago. I have not eaten weekend brunch in the city since last summer; I drive to Evanston. Almost all my shopping is done online now with Amazon and grocery shopping I do at Meijer in Indiana (no sales tax on food and gas that costs 50 cents less per gallon). The savings in gas alone pays for the trip, which with the mileage my car gets is less than round-trip fare on CTA. Just drive down any commercial street like Clark Street and you'll see that the 1-2-3 punch of the recession, increased parking rates and increased sales tax has knocked a lot of businesses out of business. Empty storefronts and empty parking spaces. Drive a little further to Lincolnwood Towne Center, just over the city limits, and you'll think it's Saturday before Christmas. BTW the reason I don't use parking meters any more hasn't so much to do with the cost (though $1.25 an hour for Rogers Park is insane), but with the two hour time limit. I can't do brunch or an afternoon of browsing in under two hours and I am certainly not a time watcher. The limit should be four hours. And please no one suggest CTA. I lived without a car in Chicago for 20 years. It never was very pleasant but now it is no longer possible. I got this car just last year and will never take public transit in this city again. Higher costs of driving are most certainly bad for Chicago. People with cars tend to have more income and spend more than those that cannot afford them. Raise costs for the biggest spenders who happen to have the most mobility and they will go elsewhere. Thanks to the higher costs of parking (including on Sundays) and the higher Cook County sales tax, I no longer spend money in Chicago. I have not eaten weekend brunch in the city since last summer; I drive to Evanston. Almost all my shopping is done online now with Amazon and grocery shopping I do at Meijer in Indiana (no sales tax on food and gas that costs 50 cents less per gallon). The savings in gas alone pays for the trip, which with the mileage my car gets is less than round-trip fare on CTA. Just drive down any commercial street like Clark Street and you’ll see that the 1-2-3 punch of the recession, increased parking rates and increased sales tax has knocked a lot of businesses out of business. Empty storefronts and empty parking spaces. Drive a little further to Lincolnwood Towne Center, just over the city limits, and you’ll think it’s Saturday before Christmas.

BTW the reason I don’t use parking meters any more hasn’t so much to do with the cost (though $1.25 an hour for Rogers Park is insane), but with the two hour time limit. I can’t do brunch or an afternoon of browsing in under two hours and I am certainly not a time watcher. The limit should be four hours.

And please no one suggest CTA. I lived without a car in Chicago for 20 years. It never was very pleasant but now it is no longer possible. I got this car just last year and will never take public transit in this city again.

]]> By: Thomas Westgard http://www.thechicago77.com/2010/02/the-new-parking-meters-and-the-chicago-economy/#comment-1714 Thomas Westgard Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:57:51 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=2831#comment-1714 You apparently belong to a social class that can afford to pay the higher costs, but I think you're making some unfounded assumptions about the ability of everyone to do the same. Some people could barely afford to keep their cars at the earlier prices, and this colossal rate hike will cause some to jettison their cars entirely (some by not being able to pay the fees at the impound). Still others who could pay the increased amounts will choose other means of travel, like walking, biking, or the CTA. It's not so clear to me that higher costs for driving are bad for the City of Chicago or the majority of its businesses. One tends to drive to big corporate stores that, on average, pay less in taxes and receive more in subsidies than small local stores. For example, if you have a car you're far more likely to drive to a Dominick's or a Target, often one located in the suburbs. But if you don't have a car, you're more likely to walk to a small, local grocery. That means the city gets more in taxes and overall pays less in subsidy costs (like the cost of maintaining that street you drove on to get to the suburban mall). What would make the story a bit more interesting and substantial would be an analysis of how much more this will cost, and a breakdown of how that will impact people who own cars today. You apparently belong to a social class that can afford to pay the higher costs, but I think you’re making some unfounded assumptions about the ability of everyone to do the same. Some people could barely afford to keep their cars at the earlier prices, and this colossal rate hike will cause some to jettison their cars entirely (some by not being able to pay the fees at the impound). Still others who could pay the increased amounts will choose other means of travel, like walking, biking, or the CTA.

It’s not so clear to me that higher costs for driving are bad for the City of Chicago or the majority of its businesses. One tends to drive to big corporate stores that, on average, pay less in taxes and receive more in subsidies than small local stores. For example, if you have a car you’re far more likely to drive to a Dominick’s or a Target, often one located in the suburbs. But if you don’t have a car, you’re more likely to walk to a small, local grocery. That means the city gets more in taxes and overall pays less in subsidy costs (like the cost of maintaining that street you drove on to get to the suburban mall).

What would make the story a bit more interesting and substantial would be an analysis of how much more this will cost, and a breakdown of how that will impact people who own cars today.

]]> By: Reading Around on February 7th through February 17th | B12 Solipsism http://www.thechicago77.com/2010/02/the-new-parking-meters-and-the-chicago-economy/#comment-1711 Reading Around on February 7th through February 17th | B12 Solipsism Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:01:38 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=2831#comment-1711 [...] The New Parking Meters and The Chicago Economy | The Chicago 77 – We’d like to that Swanksalot for kindly sharing today’s photo via the Creative Common’s License. (sic) [...] [...] The New Parking Meters and The Chicago Economy | The Chicago 77 – We’d like to that Swanksalot for kindly sharing today’s photo via the Creative Common’s License. (sic) [...]

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