The Lowdown On Driving, Parking Pickup Trucks In Chicago
Why can’t pickup trucks drive on Lake Shore Drive?
Why can pickup trucks be ticketed for parking on residential streets?
WBEZ’s Curious City series tackles these questions in a recently posted story.
While Chicago Public Radio reporter Lauren Chooljian began digging around City Hall trying to find someone who knew why pickup trucks, like all trucks and commercial vehicles are banned from Lake Shore Drive, she couldn’t get anyone to officially answer her question.
However, she did speak to a map expert with an interest in Chicago history who believes the LSD truck ban harkens back to the late 1800′s.
“It (Lake Shore Drive) was to be a pleasure drive,” Dennis McClendon explains. “It was not to be a traffic carrying arterial, it was a way to enjoy the park in your carriage or your brougham.” (A brougham being a light carriage that was drawn by a single horse.)
The tradition of prohibiting trucks of any kind to travel upon Lake Shore Drive still stands today.
Chooljian also delves into the tangled mess of a law pertaining to parking pickup trucks on a Chicago residential street and gives a pretty decent primer on this issue as well.
Here’s the full story, “Question answered: Why ban pickups from Lake Shore Drive? Where can they park?”
Dear Expired Meter Guru:
Can you please give us a table of how much parking costs will go up by each year for all three tiers; the downtown area, area close to downtown and the rest of the city? Thanks.
The reason pickups are basically banned in Chicago is because they are mostly driven by working class people, and these are the people Chicago wants to run out of the city. Chicago officials only want the wealthy and the welfare cases. The working class are of no use to machine politicians.
Huh??? Pete, were you dropped on your head as a kid? Chicago wants to run out middle class working people? I almost went all day without hearing or reading anything stupid until now, thanks to you. If you look around, I would have to guess that at least 50% of pickup trucks you see parked on residential streets are junkers (Scrap haulers). I for one wouldn’t want to look at that crap outside my living room window parked in front of my house.
“Remedy”, pull your head out of your ass and look around. Every Chicago revenue scamming scheme (most of which revolves around cars) targets the working class the hardest. Schools are kept shitty for a reason (and lack of funding is NOT that reason). Crime is ignored outside of downtown. How much more evidence do you need that Chicago does not want working class people in the city? The wealthy are not affected by this, neither are the welfare breeders. ONLY the working class.
LMAO!! Really? I see ticket writers on a daily basis nailing high end cars in the Gold Coast!! Are they middle class? I live on the southwest side of the city and crime is not a problem here (No worse than downtown). A neighborhood is what the residents make of it. Stop blaming the city for targeting middle class, because that is just stupid. If you don’t get your city sticker, renew your plates, PARK A B PLATED TRUCK ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET, then you deserve the damn ticket, bottom line.
The Ward Residential Restriction is :
9-64-170(a) It shall be unlawful to park any truck, tractor, semi-trailer, trailer, recreational vehicle more than 22 feet in length, self contained motor home, bus, taxicab or livery vehicle on any residential street for a longer period than is necessary for the reasonably expeditious loading or unloading of such vehicle. however that in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th, 40th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th wards this prohibition shall not apply to the owner of a pickup truck or van weighing under 8,001 pounds who has no outstanding parking violations, when such vehicle is parked at the curb adjacent to the owners place of residence and the vehicle bears a valid and current city wheel tax license emblem and a special parking permit issued in accordance with this subsection.
The Wards are not required to issue the permit to Marked Commercial 2nd Division Vehicles (Pickups and Vans.)
The Wards are not Entitled to Issue the Permit to vehicles with a D class or higher Truck plate (8,001+ pounds). If a Vehicle with a D Truck plate is displaying a Truck/Van Permit…it is to be ticketed immediately for 125.00 per fine with the comments “8001 pound+ D class Truck Plate.” Commercial Vehicles like Fedex or UPS are allowed ‘delivery time” of the Expeditious nature….but vehicles belonging to to SEARs or ABT Electronics or etc that are doing Home Installations are required to get permits from CDOT or OEMC to be able to be on any residential street for an extended period of time.
Now…lets devolve from Residential Streets and move on to Business Streets.
9-64-170(b) It shall be unlawful to park any truck, self-contained motor home, or bus on any business street in the city for a longer period than is necessary for the reasonably expeditious loading or unloading.
Truck Plated Vehicles of All Weight/Plate Classes are not allowed to Park for Free on Any Business street for a longer period than is needed to Expeditiously Load or Unload their goods….PERIOD.
Want to go to lunch with your buddies on Lincoln in your B Truck Tundra or Escalade? Park on a Meter and pay it…else you can be tickets Just because you have a Truck Plate on your Vehicle. 25.00 Fine (9-64-170B) for lower than 8,001 pound Pickups/Vans….125.00 (9-64-170D) Fine for higher than 8001 pound Vans/Pickups OR Any/ALL Commercially Marked Vehicles.
Quick Recap:
9-64-170 A is the Residential Street Municipal Code
9-64-170 B is the Business Street Code for Vehicles of a Specific Plate type and Pickups/Vans 8k pounds and lower.
9-64-170D is the Municipal Ordinance for ALL Commercially Marked Vehicles regardless of License Plate type AND for Pickups/Vans Over 8001 pounds.
9-64-170D can be issued on Residential Streets as well as Business streets.
(d) It shall be unlawful to park a truck tractor as defined in Section 1-212 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, a commercial truck, a semi-trailer or a trailer on any business street or residential street in the city for a longer period than is necessary for the reasonably expeditious loading or unloading of such vehicle. This prohibition shall not apply to the owner of a pickup truck or van weighing under 8,001 pounds who has no outstanding parking violations, when such vehicle is parked on a residential street at the curb adjacent to the owner’s place of residence and the vehicle bears a valid and current city wheel tax license emblem and a special parking permit issued in accordance with subsection (a). A violator of this subsection shall be subject to the fineset forth in Section 9-100-020. In addition to suchfine, the a commercial truck, truck tractor, semi- trailer or trailer shall be subject to immobilization andimpoundment, without prior notice or placement onan immobilization list.
(e) For the purposes of this section:
“Commercial truck” means (i) a motor vehicle marked, emblazoned, or otherwise represented as being used for the transportation of property in the furtherance of any commercial or industrial enterprise, for hire or not for hire; or (ii) motor vehicles carrying merchandise or supplies of a commercial or industrial nature; or (iii) “junk vehicles.” NOTE: A Motor Vehicle, not a Truck Plated Vehicle.
Junk vehicle(s) means any truck, automobile or other motorized vehicle used to collect junk, as defined in Section 4-6-150(a), dispose of junk or transport junk from one place to another.
Chicago Municipal Code Hosted at :
http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Illinois/chicago_il/municipalcodeofchicago?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:chicago_il
City Clerks Website Hosting of the Truck/Van Permit info:
http://chicityclerk.com/city-stickers-parking/about-residential-parking/pickup-truck-parking/
Note: the City Clerk and American Legal Publishing site differ on the Weight of Pickups and Vans that fall under 9-64-170 A, B, D.
The Ordinance was amended from a 4500 Pound Ceiling to a 8001 Pound Ceiling July 27th, 2012. That Information was confirmed via telephone query to 41st Ward Alderman and City Clerk PR.
^^^^^Yeah….What he said ^^^^^^