parking

As I’ve written several times, 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack is one of City Council’s key independent voices, and he’s also a frequent bike commuter and a likeable person. That makes it especially annoying that he keeps making backward statements about transportation and public space issues.

Colonel Jennifer Pritzker's crews have demolished the attractive, 90-year-old house, formerly home to the Shambala meditation center, that stood on the Rogers Park lot where the billionaire plans to build a 250-car parking garage. The new structure would largely serve visitors to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Emil Bach House and residents at Farcroft by the Lake, an upscale apartment tower, both owned by Pritzker. Eighty-four spaces would be set aside for short- and long-term paid parking for the general public. However, the garage still requires the approval of the Chicago Plan Commission, which is on their October 17 meeting agenda.

The impending departure of the Golden Angel pancake house, 4344 North Lincoln in North Center, located kitty-corner from the Sulzer Library, where I often type up Streetsblog posts, is bitter-sweet for me. I’ll miss conversing with the chatty waitresses at this old-school greasy spoon while I tuck into a plate of their tasty chilaquiles.

We hope you enjoyed part one of our Q&A with Alan Durning, which we published yesterday. Durning is publishing a series of articles on his blog at the Sightline Institute -- where he serves as executive director -- about the ways that underpriced parking drives up rents, eats up space, and makes no sense.

Tax increment financing is a pretty neat tool cities can use to finance quality-of-life amenities, like the Beltline in Atlanta, or the streetcar in Kansas City, by capturing the taxes from the property value increases of the investments.

At last night’s community meeting at Intuit arts center, the Chicago Department of Transportation discussed its vision for innovative bike lanes on Milwaukee between Kinzie and Elston. The plan, which is actually much more ambitious than what was outlined on the CDOT website prior to the meeting, involves removing about half of the car-parking spaces along Milwaukee to make room for buffered and protected lanes on the entire segment. To really wrap your head around what's being proposed, be sure to check out the department's presentation on the plan.

If you live or work on the Near Northwest Side and/or bike commute regularly on Milwaukee Avenue, try to stop by tonight’s community meeting on the city’s proposal for buffered and protected bike lanes on Milwaukee between Kinzie and Elston. The meeting takes place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Intuit arts center, 756 North Milwaukee.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s announcement today that he has renegotiated the city's much-hated parking meter contract to save an estimated $1 billion over the next 71 years appears to be a big win for Chicago residents. The introduction of a new pay-by-cell option, albeit with a 35-cent convenience fee, also seems to be a good thing. But while many Chicagoans will cheer the news that Sunday parking would be free as part of the agreement, in reality this may hurt local businesses and lead to more traffic jams.