Permit Parking... (Roscoe, St. Joseph, Cambridge: apartment, to rent, car insurance)

[yamasho]

I am considering living in Lakeview and I understand that an option for parking is permit parking. This would be ideal because I really dont even plan on using my car that much at all. I just wanna park it somewhere and let it look good.

How exactly does permit parking work? I was told that in Lakeview it is applicable only east of Broadway. WHich is exactly where I look to be, so that would work.

How much is a permit, how difficult is parking in Lake View...is it better just to pay $150-300/month for parking?

What do you all think?...thank you in advance

[Manigault]

All I know is that you get a permit and a reasonable number of visitor passes for when your friends come over. You have to pay all outstanding tickets before you can get a permit.

[Drover]

There are certainly parts of Lakeview west of Broadway that have permit parking -- Wrigleyville being an obvious example for obvious reasons. And there are typically multiple permit zones in any given neighborhood, so your permit will probably only be good within a few blocks of your residence, and maybe even less than that. Your permit will not be valid in all parts of Lakeview.

I believe a permit is $25 a year, and even with a permit you're going to find parking extremely difficult in the Roscoe/LSD area. The shoreline area, particularly along the North side, is generally the most densely populated in the city. If you can swing off-street parking that would be better; but needless to say it's pretty expensive in that area, probably $200/mo or more.

[andrew61]

Generally, on-street parking in Lakeview is tightest in the areas closest to the lake... it can be a nightmare east of Broadway in particular. It gets gradually easier the further west you go, as the population density decreases and larger apartment buildings give way to single-family dwellings and two- and three-flats.

And permit parking is most definitely not restricted to east of Broadway. In many areas up to ten blocks or so from Wrigley Field, you will be towed if you're parked during a Cubs night game without a permit. Check street signs in the vicinity wherever you're considering moving... permit restrictions, if any, are posted on all the light poles.

Also, even in the "easier" parking areas of Lakeview, if you live anywhere near Wrigley Field and you arrive home when a day game is in session, you might have a horrendous time finding a parking space.

If I were you, I'd spring for the $150-$200 a month for offstreet parking if you can fit it into your budget. But if you're only going to use your car once in a while, it might be more economical to give it up and join a car-sharing service. Here are two that are available in the city:

I-Go

Zipcars

[cubbieblue99]

I live on W. Briar place, east of Broadway. I own a parking spot in the condo building I live in, but since I don't drive my car very much I decided to rent out the spot for $200/mo and do street parking. I did street parking for a good year or so. There are definitely pros and cons. Mostly cons unfortunately.

To begin with, it's very hard to find a parking spot on the street! I didn't have a 383 sticker at first so I couldn't park anywhere west of Broadway. Street parking east of Broadway does not require a 383 sticker. I asked someone and they said it's b/c St. Joseph Hosp is nearby and they wanted visitors to be able to street park if need be (which I think is silly since there's a parking lot, but anyway..) So I would drive up and down Diversey to Briar trying to find a spot. I did find a good spot... if you're driving east on Belmont, there a 3 small side streets- Cambridge, Hudson and Pine Grove. Sometimes if you're lucky you'll find one there. Also Stockton (the street thru the park will usually have a spot that is if don't mind walking the 5-8 blks back to your place). Since I don't move my car but about once a month to drive to the suburbs, once I found a spot it was great b/c it just sat there and I was collecting $200/mo in the bank.

However... then March-April comes and the dreadful street cleaning begins! Get a street cleaning schedule online or check your car daily to see if there are signs posted b/c they will give you a ticket... I probably got about 3 of them in a year's time - $50 each. If you are savvy enough, you will move your car before the day it's cleaned. Then there's the bang-ups I have on my car. I have a 2002 Corolla, so it's no BMW or anything, but since I moved here from the burbs, it's endured multiple scraping, scratching on the rear bumper from parallel parkers who bump my car when parking or are are too close, as well as my car was side swiped one day when I wasn't around and the next day I found it and of course no note left. So I will have to pay the deductible from my car insurance to get that fixed for over $1000 if I decide to fix it. My car is very banged up. Again, it's an older car, so it's no heartbreak, but still irritating.

If you decide to purchase a 383 sticker (I think I'm quoting that right), then you can park west of Broadway which is slightly easier b/c as someone said there are less highrises and more single family home and 3 flats, thus less cars on the streets. It's still not wide open for parking though.

So overall, it's a decision that you need to make. If you know you are going to use your car alot (for work for instance) and you are going to be living east of Broadway, I would definitely suggest investing in renting a parking spot. It's less stressful to know when you come home that you will have somewhere to park and won't be driving around (for sometimes a hour... I'm not kidding.)

If you don't drive alot, you can try my approach and try street parking for a while. Maybe you will be lucky and find something right away. I've noticed early morning (about 6-8 am is the best time as people are leaving for work). Sunday afternoon, night seems to be the worst. Then leave it there and don't use it much.

[carfreechicago]

If you don't use your car that much, it would be much cheaper to sell it and use I-Go or Zipcar when you do need a car.

There's no permit required east of Broadway, but that'll make it even harder to find parking. There are signs limiting parking during Cubs games, which is confusing, then everywhere else it's hard to find on-street parking even if you have the right permit. When I used to own a car I'd sometimes driver around for over a half hour looking for a spot. If you insist on keeping a car in Lakeview, you should rent an off-street spot. You may find though that's it's one less thing to worry about if you just sell it and enjoy walking, transit and car-sharing. Over a third of Lakeview residents are carfree.

[movingsomewhere]

I notice even if there's street cleaning days or maintenance, 1 or 2 cars are still parked on the side street, I'm assuming the owners are disabled or bought a city parking permit at cityofchicago.org. These cars usually have some orange-looking sticker placed on their windshields. How much do these city parking permit cost? Is it worth it or it's best to just rent a garage so I won't have to worry about getting ticketed or towed?

I'm considering a garage so when it snows, it's less hassle.

renting a garage, I've seen prices for $50 a month.

[Drover]

Parking on the side of the street that's scheduled to be swept, on the day it's being swept, is a ticketable offense no matter what. There are any number of possible reasons you still see some cars there can, such as forgetfulness, or being unaware that it's street cleaning day (those signs typically go up the day before so there's not much advance notice) or if it's a really hard area to find parking, deciding that it's worth paying the ticket to not have to spend half an hour hunting for a new parking spot.

Street parking permits are $25 a year where required. Not all side streets require it. You typically only see it in dense neighborhoods near busy business districts, near schools, and near train stations.

$50 a month seems like a good deal, especially if it's an enclosed/covered space.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by movingsomewhere

I notice even if there's street cleaning days or maintenance, 1 or 2 cars are still parked on the side street, I'm assuming the owners are disabled or bought a city parking permit at cityofchicago.org. These cars usually have some orange-looking sticker placed on their windshields. How much do these city parking permit cost? Is it worth it or it's best to just rent a garage so I won't have to worry about getting ticketed or towed?

I'm considering a garage so when it snows, it's less hassle.

renting a garage, I've seen prices for $50 a month.

please do not be "that guy" - one of those who think that having a private garage spot means they don't need to buy a City sticker.

one does not buy the sticker for the "right" to park on the street, ALL vehicles owned by City residents need a sticker, the revenue goes to pay for the streets, which you will be using even if you park in a garage...

[IllNoize]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

please do not be "that guy" - one of those who think that having a private garage spot means they don't need to buy a City sticker.

one does not buy the sticker for the "right" to park on the street, ALL vehicles owned by City residents need a sticker, the revenue goes to pay for the streets, which you will be using even if you park in a garage...

City Sticker vs City Parking Permit..two different things. Question was about purchasing a City Parking permit. You may have a City sticker but still get ticketed for not having a city parking permit if you park in zones that require residential permits.

You need to have a city sticker before you can purchase a residential parking permit and starting this year the city sticker will include the residential parking permit zone number. One combined sticker for the price of two..yay.