Who is responsible for keeping sidewalks adjacent to the new parking meter pay boxes cleared of snow and ice?
The city? LAZ Parking or Chicago Parking Meters, LLC? The business or resident closest to the meter?
That’s the question CBS 2 News posed on Friday when they spotlighted a few meter boxes with mounds of uneven snow and ice in front of a few pay boxes around the city.
According to CBS 2, LAZ Parking doesn’t feel it’s responsible and the city didn’t have a response.
In the meantime, elderly drivers are not happy with the situation and the danger of slipping and falling just trying to feed the meter.
Here’s Jim William’s story, “Pay For Parking, Then Slip And Fall?” and the video version of the story.
Posted in 
Since they’re on the sidewalk, wouldn’t it be the property owner?
glg….there is a problem with that though. But it is a very good question.
From the Curb to the actual Private Property line…the pavement or sidewalk or grass or w/e is owned by the city.
Eminent Domain I believe is the phrase for the area in question, but I might be wrong.
Is the Business owner in front of the Pay Box legally required to clear the space and keep it ice and snow free? Or is it the City via the Department of Streets and Sanitation? Does the Ward office have the requirement to make sure that the Wards S&S Captain deploys laborers to make sure each and every inch of sidewalk and parkway is cleared of debris and snow or ice?
Personally I am not sure, as I am not a Law student.
The answer seems simple enough. Who was responsible for clearing around the old parking meters and pay boxes before they were turned over?
Pete….I never saw people cleaning around them before the turn over.
No one cared enough then and they still don’t.
I hope to fall while sweeping a pay box street.
I will file against the local Chamber of Commerce and the City as well as the Property owner.
It’s the City’s responsibility to keep the snow cleared away from the meters.
Additionally, it’s my understanding is that the meter contract was written is such a way that LAZ gets handsomely compensated by the City for lost revenue as a result of things like street closures and other things (like mounds of snow) that keep motorists from accessing payboxes.
Property owners AND tenants are responsible for clearing snow from the sidewalks in front of their buildings (yes, even tho it’s City property), but they only have to clear a four foot wide path. So on wider sidewalks, there’s nothing requiring them to clear by the pay box or meters.
The difference between when there were meters at every parking space and now is that people must walk farther and navigate more snow and ice than before to get to the pay box, then again to get back to their cars.