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The Sun-Times and the Trib have various details on the city’s new parking deal. In short: the city sold all the parking meters to Chicago Parking Meter LLC, aka two Morgan Stanley funds and a parking company, which will subsequently jack up the rates, most from $0.25 to $1. The immediate reaction to any price increase is outrage, but in the abstract it’s clever:
It’s also worth considering the substantial increase as a punitive tax on driving in the city–which will surely piss people off, of course, but it could also reduce congestion and divert more people to the CTA or other forms of transportation like biking or walking. Or Segways, which are of course hilarious. Higher rates could also lead to more parking violations, and if I read things correctly tickets would still get paid to the city, diverting what amount to parking “fees” back to the city.
