The Geek is an idiot, who gets a lot of parking tickets, and knows how to fight back.
When the new, higher Chicago parking meter rates kick in January 1st, motorists will have little time to reminisce about 2009's lower rates as the transition is expected to move very quickly.
Nine days is all it should take.
That's how fast sources claim LAZ Parking plans to take to change all 4100 pay boxes and 600 traditional single head parking meters from the old rates, to the new increased rates.
According to a source within LAZ Parking, rate change crews will hit the ground running January 1st in order to begin converting pay boxes to the higher rates.
When the City of Chicago signed a 75 year long concession agreement with Chicago Parking Meters, LLC to operate the city's entire 36,000 parking meter system, it allowed for rate increases for the first five years of the deal, and at minimum, increases tied to inflation after that.
So, while the most drastic increases occurred early in 2009, with the vast majority of meters increasing 400% from 25 cents per hour to $1.00 hour, rates will rise again on January 1, 2010 by an average of 25%.
Meters that are currently charging $1.00 per hour go up to $1.25 per hour, while meters currently charging $2.00 per hour will go up 50 cents an hour to $2.50 per hour, and downtown meters currently charging $3.50 per hour will increase by 75 cents an hour to $4.25 per hour.
For all practical purposes, Chicago's parking meter rates have increased by an average of 500% in less than 12 months.
The time around it seems, CPM does not want a replay of last spring when it encountered a slew of problems which delayed in its initial transition from old rates to new rates.
Initially, when LAZ Parking, CPM's operational partner, had to change the rates on over 36,000 single (or double) space meters, it took much longer than expected. Originally, LAZ thought it would take three to four weeks to complete the transition. Eventually, after three months or so, the rate change was complete.
In addition, during the transition, many meters were broken or vandalized, meters overflowed with quarters because the company did not realize the four-fold rate increase would require meters being emptied more frequently, and many meters were mislabeled or not charging the correct amounts.
According to sources, the company, not looking to get embarrassed again for their initial performance with last year's meter rate increases, has been carefully planning, preparing and training personnel since October to convert all meters and pay boxes to the new rates as fast as possible.
This time around it will be much easier because of the new parking meter pay boxes the company had installed over the last eight months. Instead of having over 36,000 single-space meters to change over, there will be only 600 single space meters to convert and 4100 multi-space pay boxes.
Even though January 1st, New Year's Day, is a holiday, LAZ's action plan calls for three, two-person crews converting all Loop/Central Business District pay boxes (the most lucrative area with the highest meter rates) to the new, even higher rates on that day.
However, on January 2nd, a total of 10 teams of two people will hit the streets converting 50 pay boxes per day, per team, to the higher rates. A pace of 500 pay boxes per day.
All 600 or so remaining single space meters will be changed to the new rates by January 4th.
CPM spokesperson Avis LaVelle disputes the claim about rapid speed and efficiency of the rate transition only saying, "it will be done in a phased approach."
LaVelle says the company will release more details about their plans for the meter rate changes sometime this week.
1 Comment
Mike N. said:
We've sat back for 20 years and let Daley and his cadre of sociopaths both in and out of government employ a single principal: "Reward your friends and punish your enemies." Unfortunately we, the public, the ordinary citizens of Chicago and the world ARE his enemies. We don't like what he's up to, but his friends are thrilled: the bankers, developers and big corporate boards that have been drooling for years as they sidle up to Daley and cash in on cozy schemes and deals. They profit, and all others must pay. Daley's cameras aren't pointed at them - they are pointed at you. The parking meters are just a logical outcome of the principal by which 98 percent of Daley's dealings operate. We are going to have a rough road ahead trying to replace this entrenched system of vested interests who are really just beginning to start testing the water in terms of how much shit we will take and how much they can gouge us. But, I have a feeling we will sit back and take it as usual.
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