OAK PARK
Parking rates likely to be increased
Motorists can expect to pay more for parking on Oak Park streets and in village-owned garages and lots soon.
The higher rates are intended to boost the village’s parking fund, which has an annual deficit of about $2 million.
“That’s red ink for one year,” Village Manager Tom Barwin told the Village Board on Monday.
In the past, the gap had been covered with loans from the village’s general operating fund. But the general fund is now owed $9 million by the parking fund, and the practice needs to stop, Barwin said.
The problem has grown in recent years as surface parking lots were closed and redeveloped, parking garages built or expanded and security costs increased.
Some of the recommended changes mentioned Monday include reducing the number of free parking hours from two to one in the village’s garages.
Free parking on Saturdays may also come to an end, although Sundays will remain free.
Also, the overall rates in the garages and on the streets will probably rise.
The 24-hour permit for non-residents would be raised to $200 a quarter from $160. But the 24-hour garage permit for Oak Park residents would remain the same, $160 per quarter, Barwin said.
The metered rates would vary depending on whether the area has a high, medium or low demand for parking.
In downtown Oak Park, considered a high-demand zone, the metered rates would increase to $1.50 an hour from 50 cents an hour.
The medium-demand areas, such as Oak Park Avenue and near Interstate Highway 290, would rise to $1 an hour from 75 cents an hour.
The increased rates would generate nearly $730,000 annually, Barwin said.
The board is expected to discuss the proposal and possibly vote on the new rates in June.
— Victoria Pierce
CLARENDON HILLS
Fees from developers will help pay for park
Fees from developers who have built housing south of 55th Street since 2005 will help pay for a new park, officials said during Monday night’s Village Board meeting.
Trustees voted to release the $120,677 from an escrow account after the Clarendon Hills Park District announced it had won a state grant to fund half the cost of acquiring the land for the new park, which will be at 5624 S. Western Ave.
Donald Scheltens, executive director of the Park District, said Tuesday morning that a $551,500 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development program will be used to pay about half the $1.1 million cost of acquiring the 2.38-acre parcel.
He said the Park District may issue 20-year general obligation bonds to pay for the rest.
— Christine Martin
