The Chicago Tribune’s Clout Street blog is reporting that, as the finance committee debates the parking meter lease plan, more insidious details are coming out.

The proposed plan cuts out ALL parking meter holidays and drivers will have to feed meters on Sundays.

With the exception of very few areas (downtown museum campus and Wrigleyville), the vast majority of parking meters did not have to be fed on Sundays. It now looks like we’ll look back nostalgically at the days when you didn’t have to worry about feeding your meter on Sundays.

The only mildly optimistic thing is that at least some alderman are questioning the steep increase in meter rates. So it’s possible (but not likely) that these rates may not go up as drastically as proposed. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

Here’s the Clout Street story.

No more parking meter holidays under lease deal

Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos and Hal Dardick

Parking meter holidays will be a thing of the past under a proposed privatization of the city’s system a City Council committee approved today.

That detail came out during a hearing when Paul Volpe, City Hall’s chief financial officer, told aldermen there will be “no meter holidays” under the 75-year lease deal. That means parkers will have to feed the meters seven days a week, all year round.

A city web site lists the current parking meter holidays as New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Axing the meter holidays means drivers will have to feed meters on Sundays at locations where they currently do not. Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) suggested that new signs be posted to warn people that there will be no more free holiday or Sunday parking as of Jan. 1.

On Tuesday, city officials said the hours of operation for parking meters also would be standardized.

Mayor Richard Daley is asking aldermen to approve a lease of the meters to a private company that’s agreed to pay the city $1.2 billion to run the city’s system. The company would be allowed to raise rates every year for the next five years. Meters that cost a quarter for an hour would increase to $1 an hour around Jan. 1.

Anticipating big shortfalls, Daley plans to set aside as much as $675 million of the one-time parking meter windfall to help balance the city’s budget. Last year, Daley had said the meter money would be kept in reserve instead.

Given the faltering economy, however, failing to spend the money to balance budgets would result in “inordinately taxing people or cutting public services,” Volpe told aldermen.

The city recently agreed to cut payroll and raise taxes and fees to plug a $469 million budget hole. “I’m here to tell you next year is going to be worse,” Volpe to the City Council’s Finance Committee.

Volpe’s remarks came in response to comments from Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), who said the administration should let each aldermen spend some of the money on improvements in their wards.

“I’ve got a lot of needs in my community,” Beale said.

Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) said he was senstive to front-page coverage of the rate hikes in today’s newspapers. But Solis said he would vote for the deal because it is “the best that we can do in a difficult economy.”

Several aldermen also raised concerns about being given only 72 hours to review, evaluate and approve the deal.

“Why, in this instance, and in the Midway instance, were we asked to turn around on a dime?” asked Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th).

Volpe said interest rates are currently very low and the city wants to act now in case those rates increase in this “volatile market.” He also said the city needs the money as soon as possible.

“We will not close this transaction before the end of the year, which was our goal,” he said. “To delay it puts our budget at risk.”

Preckwinkle, however, bluntly questioned his assertions. “Unfortunately for both of us, I don’t believe you,” she said, adding that interest rates are more likely to go down than up in a recession.

Volpe began to defend himself, but Ald. Tom Allen (38th) jumped in and noted alderman also were only given 72 hours in the Skyway deal.

“The reality is that’s the modus operandi, the method of operation” of the administration, Allen said. “I just don’t think that’s a good way to do business.”

Ultimately, however, the committee voted to send the lease to the full council, which is scheduled to vote on it Thursday. Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) was the only alderman on the committee voting against.

During the debate, Suarez told Volpe that the higher rates would hurt “mom and pop” business and “blue-collar” constituents in his Northwest Side ward. Suarez predicted that people instead will drive to shopping malls where they can park for free.

Suarez threatened to remove all meters from his ward and suggested that wards such as his have lower rates than downtown or lakefront areas with higher-income residents and bigger demand for parking.

Volpe replied that the new private operators have no interest in seeing a drop in the use of metered spaces. If use falls, Volpe said, rates could be rolled back.

“You may be able to reduce the hourly rate and not impact revenue,” Volpe said.

Thumbs up or thumbs down on Mayor Daley’s parking meter privatization deal.

The Chicago Sun-Times wants your thoughts.

Parking meter rip-off?

By Kate Grossman

The city scored a $1.15 billion deal to privatize its parking meters but it comes at a price for the lowly Chicago driver.

Under a deal announced by the city Tuesday, drivers in Chicago will pay $6.50 an hour to park at a downtown parking meter in 2013 — up from $3 now. And parking in shopping areas outside the Loop will go from $1 to $4 an hour.

This deal brings the city desperately needed cash and, arguably, brings city parking rates into the 21st century. The city says 70 percent of rates haven’t changed in 20 years.

You can argue this is good for the environment — Chicagoans are more likely to take the train or the bus if parking isn’t a steal. It’s also potentially good for reducing congestion. But if our public transit system doesn’t improve, many people will just pay more to park.

Where do you come down on parking meter privatization:

Is it a rip-off or a wise move for the city and the environment?

The Chicago city council’s finance committee is in the midst of debating Daley’s 75-year parking meter lease plan.

I’ll be shocked if there is really any kind of opposition. The city needs the cash…desperately.

It should get voted on and approved by end of day and go to the full council tomorrow, where again, it will be approved.

Mayor Daley hates drivers.

He has to. There’s no other way to explain it.

Or perhaps it’s just that car drivers are easy to pick on.

Whatever it is, Mayor Daley has body slammed the Chicago driver this year.

The final body blow that left Chicago drivers unconscious, bloody and drooling on the canvas mat of 2008, came Tuesday when the mayor announced the $1.16 billion dollar deal to privatize Chicago’s parking meter system.

The city has been like a fish out of water from a budget standpoint, flopping around on the bottom of the boat gasping for precious air, or in Chicago’s case–hard cold cash.

Luckily for Mayor Daley, Chicago Parking Meter LLC’s billion and change saved the day.

But this billion dollar bailout comes at a price. A price paid by drivers.

It’s no surprise that parking meter rates were going to go up with this deal. But the rate of increase is like electro-shocking an infant. Initially, most meters (the ones that charge 25 cents per hour) are going to quadruple within 12 months. In five years time, parking meters will be charging drivers anywhere from $2.00 to $6.50 per hour depending on your location.

These rate increases will again, most profoundly affect the people who can least afford them–the poor and lower middle class. People with money can always take a taxi, or afford valet parking or a parking garage. While public transportation can be a low cost alternative, many people need a car for work or to transport children.

These increases will also have an adverse effect on the local economy. Low cost parking meters was a great incentive for people living outside the city to come, visit and spend their money at Chicago businesses. Much like the 10% sales tax, consumers will go elsewhere to spend their cash.

But these increased rates will also discourage city denizens to shop outside their primary neighborhoods. Why drive to that cool new restaurant or boutique when it costs so much to park and you chance a parking ticket every time you drive?

The increased enforcement that is inevitable with this deal will also discourage car travel and thus local spending.

But when you take this parking meter deal, and look back at what else the mayor has done to kick drivers in the ribs in 2008, it’s jaw dropping.

*Lowered the Denver boot threshold from three to a paltry two unpaid tickets.

*Adding 1,250 new metered parking spaces to the near west side.

When you look at all these policy changes implemented by Mayor Daley over the past 12 months, you can see that Chicago is the most anti-driver city in the entire U.S.

The truth of the matter is that Mayor Daley and his administration have mismanaged the budget and allowed spending to get disastrously out of control.

To be fair, some cuts were made. But instead of making a sincere effort to control spending, the mayor decided to balance the 2009 city budget on the backs of drivers.

In my humble Parking Geek opinion, the Mayor has unfairly targeted and overburdened the Chicago driver.

I truly hope Mayor Daley picks on someone else in 2009.

Mayor Daley’s big parking meter deal has been in the forefront of the news over the past 24 hours and there is a lot to digest.

Here is a summary of the deal and how it effects you.

PRICE TAG: $1.16 billion for a 75 year lease term.

INCREASED METER RATES: Break out the quarters, parking meter rates are going up. Waaayyyy up at least through 2013.

Most meters in the system will quadruple their rates by 2010.

Here’s how the hourly rates will breakdown according to the city:

Loop:
2008 = $3.00/hour
2009 = $3.50
2010 = $4.25
2011 = $5.00
2012 = $5.75
2013 = $6.50

Non-Loop/Central Business District
2008 = $1.00/hour
2009 = $2.00
2010 = $2.50
2011 = $3.00
2012 = $3.50
2013 = $4.00

Neighborhoods
2008 = 25 cents to 75 cents/hour
2009 = $1.00
2010 = $1.25
2011 = $1.50
2012 = $1.75
2013 = $2.00

WHEN DO PRICE INCREASES TAKE EFFECT?

Happy New Year’s! January 1 is when the new meter pricing will go into effect. However, it will take a long time to change over 36,000 parking meters. Think about it. Weeks if not a month or so to get all meters changed over.

FUTURE PRICE INCREASES?

After 2013, meter rate increases will allegedly be tied to the rate of inflation. The city council will have to approve these increases and will also have some control over the number of meters and hours of meter operation.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT

The city will still be responsible for parking enforcement via ticketing using it’s already established legions of Parking Enforcement Aides (PEAs), the police AND it’s hired guns, SERCO.

MORE ENFORCEMENT

However, according to the terms of the lease, Chicago Parking Meters LLC (the company that won the bid), can hire it’s own enforcement people to assist the city it ticketing. Increased enforcement means less scofflaws and therefore more people paying plugging quarters into meters. It also means a helluva lot more ticketing and ticket revenue for the city.

CREDIT CARD PAYMENT

Chicago Parking Meters LLC promises that all parking meters will be able to accept credit and debit cards by 2011.

PARK MAGIC?

While this is not confirmed, it stands to reason that Park Magic will be tapped to fully deploy it’s awesome in-car meters. These units (it’s like an I-Pass for parking meters) will let you pay your meter by phone and remotely if necessary.

Although the rumour is that you may end up paying more when you utilize these high tech payment options.

As usual, Fran Spielman, city hall reporter for the Sun-Times, kicks some serious ass in her coverage of the city parking meter deal.

She always seems to have the best, most accurate coverage of anything happening at city hall.

Here’s her article.

Motorists would pay more to park at cashless meter spaces

By Fran Spielman

Motorists will pay $6.50 an hour by 2013 to feed downtown parking meters — more than double the current rate — and neighborhood parkers will see an eight-fold increase under a $1.15 billion privatization plan unveiled Tuesday.

Buoyed by the nearly $5 billion gravy train generated by privatizing the Chicago Skyway, downtown parking garages and Midway Airport, Mayor Daley on Tuesday unloaded yet another city asset: Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters.

The winning 75-year bid was submitted by Chicago Parking Meters LLC, a partnership that includes Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and LAZ Parking.

In exchange for net parking meter revenues that totaled $19.5 million in 2007, the city will get an upfront payment of $1.15 billion and wash its hands of responsibility for maintenance, collections and technology upgrades.

The city will continue to write parking tickets but the contractor can “supplement” those efforts “to protect its revenue,” meaning enforcement could get tougher.

Chicago’s metered parking system operates under six different zones with varying rates and time limits. Motorists pay anywhere from 25 cents an hour in outlying neighborhoods to $3 an hour downtown.

The rates have been a bargain for decades, but not for long.

In addition to the possibility of “congestion pricing,” the deal calls for meter rates in the Loop to rise from $3 an hour to $3.50 in 2009, $4.25 in 2010, $5 in 2011, $5.75 in 2012 and $6.50 in 2013. Central business district rates outside the Loop will go from $1 an hour to $2 in 2009, $2.50 in 2010, $3 in 2011, $3.50 in 2012 and $4 in 2013. Rates will be cut in half between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Neighborhood parking rates that now range from 25 to 75 cents an hour will rise to $1 in 2009, $1.25 in 2010, $1.50 in 2011, $1.75 in 2012 and $2 in 2013.

Hours of operation will also be standardized.

After 2013, rates are expected to rise “at the rate of inflation,” subject to City Council approval. Aldermen will retain the right to alter the number of meters and their hours of operation. But if they “negatively impact” meter revenue, the private operator will have to be “made whole.”

“Seventy percent of these rates haven’t been adjusted in 20 years. Charging market rates makes great sense in terms of making available spaces for small businesses,” said Chief Financial Officer Paul Volpe.

If charging market rates makes so much sense, Daley was asked why the city didn’t do it.

“Well, many times, people were afraid to do it,” he said. “This is the best thing that has happened for us in regards to getting out of this business. This is not the core business of the city of Chicago.”

Daley plans to divide the proceeds into four different funds: a $400 million long-term reserve to replace annual parking meter revenue; $325 million to help balance city budgets through 2012 and plug the gap currently filled by the soon-to-expire mid-term fund created when the Chicago Skyway was privatized; $100 million for human service programs; and a $324 million “rainy day fund” to bridge the gap until the nation’s moribund economy starts to grow again.

That could take a while, judging from the dire news revealed Tuesday.

November rrevenues from the city’s real estate transfer tax plunged to $4.3 million. That’s $6.5 million below the city’s projections and the worst one-month performance since March, 1998 for a tax that once served as the city’s cash cow.

“Next year is going to get worse than this year….Once January comes, hold onto your pants,” Daley said. The mayor said he cannot promise there won’t be another painful round of layoffs on top of the 635 already planned.

By the middle of 2011, all Chicago parking meters will have to offer both cash and cashless payment options.

That means more pay-and-display boxes and pay-by-phone options far beyond the 1,000 beeper-like devices that sold out in a week last fall.

The Brave New World of parking technology could also include sending e-mails to motorists describing parking and traffic conditions and calling their cell phones to let them know the meter is about to expire and asking them if they want to purchase more time.

This year’s winner of the annual Chicago city sticker design contest is Denise Ferguson.

Nearly 25,000 people voted on-line via the City Clerk’s website to pick Miss Ferguson as the winning artist for next year’s 2009-2010 city vehicle sticker.

Miss Ferguson, a senior at Corliss High School, beat out 350 others to win this year’s contest and a $1000 savings bond. In addition, her design will end up on 1.3 million city stickers and their respective vehicles all over Chicago.

“I am so proud of all the students who participated and created designs that raise awareness and promote dog registration with the city,” said City Clerk del Valle in a press release. “Denise Ferguson’s innovative design will remind us all of the importance in keeping Chicago dog friendly.”

Brittany Byrne, a senior from Resurrection High School, snagged second place and will receive a $500 savings bond. Coming in third-place is Ricardo Silva, a senior at John Hancock High School, will receive a $250 savings bond.

Seven other runner-ups will recieve a 100 savings bond:

Justin Clemons - Gage Park High School

Kyle Hollings - Lane Technical High School

Bernell Campbell - Corliss High School

David Zamudio - Lawrence Hall Youth Services

Olyvia Flores - Lawrence Hall Youth Services

Sewit Geberemanam - St. Scholastica Academy

Lookman Muhammed - Lawrence Hall Youth Services

Here are the other design entries for this year.

I normally would have liked to have inserted a snide comment here, but I actually think this is a pretty cool contest the clerk’s office puts together. Plus, it involves a bunch of high school kids and it’s not there fault all us drivers have to spring for $75 or more every year.

Ouch!

The Chicago Tribune website is reporting, fresh out of the 10 AM mayoral news conference, that the new deal privatizing Chicago’s parking meters will increase most parking meters from 25 cents per hour to $1.00 per hour in the next few months.

Downtown meters, that are already $3.00 per hour, will only increase to $3.50 per hour this coming year.

It’s not that these rate increases were a surprise.

The winning bidder in the mad scramble to lease Chicago’s parking meter system is a company named Chicago Parking Meter LLC, which is made up of two Morgan Stanley infrastructure funds.
The lease is for 75 years and all price increases will have to be approved by the city council, allegedly, at the rate of inflation.

Most city parking meters to cost $1 an hour

Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos

Rates for most city parking meters will increase to $1 an hour in the coming months as a result of Mayor Richard Daley’s deal to lease the spots for $1.1 billion to a private firm.

Two-third of the city’s meters now cost 25 cents an hour, but once the paperwork is finalized, any metered spot costing less than $1 per hour will increase to $1 next year, city officials said today. And by 2013, those same metered spots will cost $2 an hour, according to City Hall.

The most expensive meters, which are found in the Loop, cost $3 an hour now. They will increase to $3.50 an hour next year and $6.50 by 2013.

City Hall officials said that after the first five years of the 75-year parking meter lease, rate hikes will be subject to approval by alderman and are expected to be at the rate of inflation.

The $1.1 billion to city coffers will come from Chicago Parking Meter LLC, which is made up of two Morgan Stanley infrastructure funds.

The Daley administration said $400 million will go into a long-term reserve, $325 million will be spent in city budgets through 2012 and $100 million is earmarked for programs helping low-income people. An additional $324 million is headed toward a fund city officials said “may be used to help bridge the period until the nation’s economy begins to grow again.”

Daley said the meter money does not preclude further spending cuts, including layoffs, in the coming months and years. That depends on how bad the economy gets, he said.

Even with this new money, the city projects deficits of about $200 million a year for several years to come, Daley said.

“That could grow. That could get much bigger,” he warned.

Paul Volpe, the city’s chief financial officer, said revenues are down even worse than expected. Real estate tranfer tax revenue for November was $4.3 million — the city’s worst month in more than 10 years.

According to the city’s request for bidders to come forward, the lease would cover 36,161 parking spots.

The city has markedly expanded the parking meter system in recent years, and revenues from the meters have increased, too.

There were 30,559 metered spots in 2004, generating net income of $13.6 million. By 2007, net income had risen to $18.9 million, according to city documents.

Finally.

After a nearly year-long bidding process, Mayor Daley has sold off Chicago’s nearly 36,000 strong parking meter system, according to an anonymous source revealed to Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The mayor will reveal all the details (amount of the bid, winning bidder, length of the lease, etc.), tomorrow at a city hall press conference at 10 AM.

Then, on Wednesday, the mayor is calling a special session of the city council to approve the parking meter deal.

The good news for Chicago is that the parking meter system sale will obviously fill a VERY big budget hole for 2009, so we know the bid is at least $150 million.

It also probably means easier ways to pay your meter, like Park Magic which lets you pay your parking meter by phone.

But, it will most certainly will mean higher parking meter rates system-wide, and possibly congested based pricing for some parking meters downtown and other areas during peak times. It may also mean extending the days and hours of operations of parking meters.

In summary, the deal is great for the city, but bad for Chicago drivers.

More details tomorrow.

City gets winning bid to privatize parking meters

By Fran Spielman

It looks like Mayor Daley’s giant budget gamble has paid off — and then some.

On Monday, the city received what a top mayoral aide described as a “winning bid” for Chicago’s 35,000 parking meters.

The winner and final price won’t be known until Daley announces it Tuesday. But, it’s large enough to fill the $150 million budget gap this year and next needed to avoid another painful round of layoffs and tax increases — and leave a pile of money left over to finance city infrastructure projects.

The sale of yet another city asset means motorists will almost certainly have to pay more to park at metered spaces — and even higher prices during peak periods in congested areas — in exchange for more cashless payment and pay-by-phone options.

Based on net parking revenues of $19.5 million in 2007, the city could be in line for an up-front fee similar to the 99-year, $1.83 billion Chicago Skyway. In exchange, the city and Park District would wash their hands of the parking meter headache.

No more parking meter collections and the theft that comes with it. No more repairing broken meters or replacing obsolete equipment. A private company would inherit the responsibility and the revenue, which has grown by 16.5 percent since 2003.

“We received a winning bid. We’re pleased with the result, which the mayor will announce [Tuesday]. With City Council approval, it will ensure the $150 million included in the 2009 budget plan and provide substantial additional resources for Chicago taxpayers,” said a top mayoral aide, who asked to remain anonymous.

Daley has called a special City Council meeting for Thursday to consider the parking meter deal. The Finance Committee will consider it Wednesday.

Daley’s $6 billion 2009 budget –precariously balanced with 635 or fewer layoffs, slow police hiring and $52.5 million worth of taxes, fines and fees — sailed through the City Council last month amid warnings of even tougher times ahead.

If the mayor didn’t seal the parking meter deal by year’s end — and get at least $150 million from the transaction to use for operations this year and next — Daley would have been forced to find another way to close that gap.

Now, aldermen can breathe a sigh of relief.

Competition for what would be the nation’s “first major public-owned parking meter operation” included Wall Street giants, parking experts and affiliates of the Spanish-Australian consortium that leased the Chicago Skyway.

They included: a joint-venture comprised of Worldwide Parking and Pay-Ease; Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners; CPS Chicago Parking, LLC; Mad Park-Chicago Ltd; JPMorgan IIF Acquisitions LLC; Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. and Dintra Aparcamientos/Dornier, S.A. and Chicago OnStreet Alliance, comprised of Macquarie Capital Group Ltd., Serco Inc. and Duncan Solutions.

The list also included: Chicago MP:2058, a partnership of Kenny Project Services, Impark, and Plainfield Asset Management; a partnership between ACS State and Local Solutions and Lehman Brothers and a joint-venture that includes Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. and Saba Aparcamientos, S.A.

Chicago parking meters are the fourth major asset unloaded by the mayor. The sell-off started with the Chicago Skyway ($1.83 billion), continued with downtown parking garages ($563 million) and culminated in the sale of Midway Airport ($2.5 billion).

As predicted, a whole bunch of unwary drivers woke up to find their car towed overnight, the first day of the Overnight Winter Parking Ban.

Monday morning, December 1st, was the offical start date for the ban on 107 miles of important arterial streets in Chicago. So from 3 AM - 7 AM, you can’t park your car on these designated streets.

Well, 165 cars got ticketed and towed to the auto pound. This is up from 149 cars nabbed the same date last year.

Coincidentally, the city saw it’s first snow of the season.

Even though there was approximately 2.5″ of snow on the ground, the 2″ snow route ban was not triggered.