Street Parking Coming To Logan Boulevard, Residents Upset Over Change In Law
For years, parking along Logan Boulevard has been prohibited.
But, starting in a few weeks, parking on the boulevard from Western Ave. to Kimball, and some of the adjacent side streets in the Logan Square neighborhood will be allowed for up to 16 hours a day in some cases according to the Chicago Tribune.
A new law was passed unanimously in the City Council last month to allow parking along this historic street, but some residents are angry and vowing to fight back against the measure, sponsored by 35th ward alderman Rey Colon.
Curiously, the Chicago Department of Transportation says allowing parking along thoroughfares to improve safety by naturally slowing traffic.
Here’s the Trib’s full report, “Boulevard parking angers Logan Square residents.”
Curb parking can slow traffic when it actually or seemingly narrows the traffic lane. However, allowing parking instead of moving traffic does nothing to actually or seemingly narrow the other traffic lane. Quite the opposite: When a 5-6 ft. wide car parks within a foot of the curb in an approximately 10 ft. wide lane, drivers will feel more comfortable speeding as they seemingly have a wider lane with an additional 3 ft. buffer between them and stationary vehicles where they previously had a varying buffer between them and moving vehicles centered on the traffic lane.