Chicago Lakefront Parking Soon to Be History by Summer's End

Chicago news reports have been announcing that parking along the lakefront will be no longer be free and it's been said that this will affect approximately nearly 5000(approximately 4400) spots along Chicago's lakefront. Users of these lots will be charged $1 an hour to park and this is going into effect sometime by the end of the summer when the Chicago Park District will be putting these in places where current free lots stand. The city's reason according to published reports both in print and online was to deal with the current financial crunch the city is dealing with. This is to avoid having to lay off workers and other things happening that is requiring some departments within the city to tighten their belts.

This also comes to a means to deter a lot of high rise apartment dwellers from using the spaces instead of parking on the street near their buildings or pay an extra fee per month for a space in their building's garages. This kind of hurts those who came to park free so they could relax or take a run or bike ride and not have to worry about their cars getting booted, towed, and ticketed if the meter ran out, but because apartment dwellers are not going to pony up the fees to park in their building's lot(s) the city has taken matters into their own hands which will affect those who don't abuse the privileges of having something for free. The fact that now many are going to have to find other places to park in order to enjoy the luxury of coming to the beach or wanting to go on that bike ride or jog along the lake, but many of us should thank those people in the high-rises for abusing what many of us appreciated for a long time. According to what was said the city could look at nearly $700,000 revenue for the city, and just to warn many $50 fines will be issued by the Chicago Police Department for cars parked illegally so don't be surprised if you get a ticket on your car for parking illegally.

The fact that pay boxes will be equipped to accept debit and credit cards so that you don't have to lug around a lot of loose change or try to find change. It's being charged $1 per hour. So however much time you need to take that jog, bike ride, or relax on the beach it won't cost too much, but it will get many of us thinking about how we should appreciate things we get for free because chances likely there's someone or somebody out there who messes it up for others by taking advantage of something for free. Not everyone has a lot of money, but whatever we're getting for free these days just to keep ourselves sane because the fact that Chicago's lakefront is one of the most breathtaking places to go to in the summer to look at the clear blue sky and water by day and a sky full of stars and a full moon by night. So be watching for what was a luxury and privilege to many for so long to be one that carries a price tag on it.

At least this will stop a lot of apartment dwellers from further taking advantage of something that's only used while at the park, jogging, riding, or relaxing after a long day at the office. The summers on the lakefront are what many Chicagoans remember as children and even coming back with children of their own to have the same experience. Lately it seemed as if many who live in apartments who can afford the pricey rent want to take advantage of something that was never theirs to use as a parking lot because they don't want to pay additional fees for parking access in their own building. As many of us see this is just another reason for the city to further squeeze cash out of its citizens in this tanking economy.