When my family headed to downtown Chicago for a post-Christmas ice skating trip at Maggie Daley Park, we made an expensive last-minute decision to park in the public garage below Millennium Park.
Metered parking in Chicago would have been a better option, but good luck finding it. Anything inside the Loop (bounded by Lake Michigan to the east, Wacker Drive to the north and west, and Congress Parkway to the south) is $6.50 per hour. Outside of that area, it costs between $2 and $6.50 per hour.
So, my family paid $32 for a covered garage that we used for only a few minutes beyond two hours.
When rain dampened our plans for a Michigan Avenue lunch, it was back into the car to find another downtown destination that could accommodate our large extended-family group. Had we not found another restaurant that could validate our parking garage ticket, cutting the price down to $14, we would have been out another $32.
All this could have been avoided had I thought about John even once before the excursion.
John works for the marketing team at SpotHero.com, and signs off on all their promo emails.
John helped me find a SpotHero.com parking place at a Catholic elementary school in order to avoid the price of parking at the United Center, and I’m sure he could have helped me out this time as well.
SpotHero.com and similar websites/apps such as Parkwhiz, ParkingPanda, and Best Parking can secure lower fees for expensive parking in downtown Chicago and elsewhere simply by arranging it ahead of time.
All are simple to use, and are particularly helpful when it comes to reducing the cost of parking overnight at downtown hotels, which can charge as much as $50 a night.
As we maneuvered around downtown looking for parking, I tried to console myself.
First, since the five members of my family own their own skates, we saved the $12 skate rental fee times five. And had there been a line waiting to rent skates, we would have saved the time needed to wait in it.
Plus, anyone who planned the timing of their trip to the rink incorrectly – which we did not – could have had to wait for as long as 45 or 60 minutes for the Zamboni to smooth out the ice.
And staying home to skate hasn’t even been an option this winter. Warm temperatures have prevented the Naperville Park District rinks from opening, spokeswoman Sameera Luthman said.
“We typically need about 72 hours of constant temperatures of 15 degrees or colder to make and maintain ice,” she said via email.
Fortunately, if the district is able to get some rinks up and running and we’re able to plan a trip, there will be no need to get in touch with John. Parking there is free.
Cathy Janek is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
