City Says the Downtown Parking Situation OK for Now, But Users Want to Be Heard

Increasing the number of parking spaces in Elmhurst only seems to raise expectations about who can park where and for how long.

As the new Larch Avenue deck's role in the parking game continues to be defined, and with a Metra deal pending, the city is trying to accommodate shoppers, commuters and employees who all want easy access to where they need to be.

According a late 2010 analysis of the parking situation, giving people access to stores and restaurants is the city's first priority.

“The first and foremost policy goal should be that adequate Consumer Parking Spaces should be provided for in appropriate locations to meet Consumer demand,” the study says.

Those who have to put on their good shoes and get into the city every day might disagree.

“Elmhurst has always been and will always be a commuter town. We are a bedroom community serving Chicago,” resident Willam Perry said.

Analyzed and Allocated

“The major components of the city's plan are the best they can be” at this time, City Manager Tom Borchert said. Still, the situation is “dynamic,” meaning that while the city has mapped out areas for different types of parking, the actual numbers of spaces devoted to shopper, commuter and employee parking could shift as usage patterns change.

“It is constantly ebbing and flowing,” he said.

Borchert stressed that the city is in the best position to provide parking for all downtown patrons, because it can manage the creation, maintenance and allocation of parking spots to maximize use.

In the analysis, the city seeks to provide “greater flexibility for purchasers (of parking permits) by allowing for monthly purchases and offer all permit users a broader choice of hopefully desirable parking space options.” An allocation study reconfigured the number of spaces in three quadrants of the central business district.

The parking system is not based on assigned parking; it works on a first-come, first-served basis. A commuter may now purchase a monthly, quarterly or annual permit allowing parking in any deck or municipal lot or along a street. Employee permits allow parking in employee or general permit spots. The cost of both commuter and employee permits is $35 monthly, $105 quarterly or $400 annually.

The Larch 'Wild Card'

The new 250-space deck at Larch Street and First Avenue is a “wild card,” Borchert said. Currently, the deck allows both permit and daily parking. The city hopes to redirect commuters to the $6 million deck to allow the Adelaide deck to be used for central business district employee parking. City staff will observe any shifts in usage for potential allocation changes, he said.

Forty percent of the Larch deck may soon be under lease to Metra. The City Council will review a 40-year lease that will reserve almost half the deck for all-day commuter parking. If the lease is approved, Metra would release $2.5 million in grant money to cover the some of the cost of the garage.

Rubber Meeting the Road

When changes in parking allocations are proposed, Borchert said, the city hears from different constituencies. Among the most vocal are Metra commuters. The opening of the Larch deck, for some, does not mean the parking issue is closed, but in fact highlights what many see as allocation disparities.

“There is major disappointment over the Adelaide parking deck with so many employee spots being reserved despite the fact that the deck is primarily used by commuters,” Perry said. “Moreover, the parking situation and focus on north-of-the-train-track spots is a disservice to those commuters on the south side of town.”

The Adelaide deck features 250 spaces designated permit-only that sell for $400 a year. The top level is dedicated to commuter parking, and an additional 60 coin-box spaces also are available for $2 a day or $35 a month.

“I don't like the fact that I continually have to park outside at Adelaide knowing a winter storm is coming while empty (and covered) employee parking spots remain open,” said Perry, who has been a commuter in Elmhurst since 2000.

He said he has heard from other commuters frustrated because they pass by empty employee-reserved spots while trying to park their own cars.

His concern is the number of spots available to commuters within a “reasonable” distance from York Road and the train station, with “reasonable” defined as two blocks. Commuters are usually dressed for work, he says, and “should not need to bring luggage to work to change because of the need to walk in our home town to the train station.”

From a commuter's perspective, he continued, there are accessibility issues with the city's main decks. The Adelaide deck is set on a narrow street, causing backups when many cars exit the structure at once. The Schiller deck has no direct access from York Road. And the Larch deck is hard to access for those living south of the tracks, he said.

Borchert, however, also sees the perspective of someone who has an appointment with a lawyer downtown and must circle around for a place to park, or from a hungry diner who might take his or her growling stomach to another town if parking is too far from restaurants.

Perry believes the solution might be a commuter-only lot. He also urges the city to continue studying who exactly is using the parking lots. Perry has his own method for gathering information about the ongoing issue of where to put your car in the downtown area. He urges commuters who have concerns to email him at elmhurstparking@hotmail.com.