Thursday, July 23, 2009

Parking in Ravenswood... Easy Street?



I've written a couple times about the everyday lifestyle changes created by the Chicago parking meter deal. Here's North Damen Avenue just south of West Lawrence Avenue. I'm parked in the furthest south spot at the intersection of Damen and Leland at about 8:45AM in front of The Perfect Cup coffee house.
The meters have been replaced by the parking boxes with new rates and and new hours... I forgot to check, but from the looks of this relatively busy stretch of Damen meters must start at 8:00AM now rather than 9:00AM because the curbs are EMPTY.




Here's a look at the east side of the street... not one car parked. There are at least 24 open parking spots available. Prior to the parking meter deal, there would be at least a dozen cars parked at this time of the morning.




I really don't know what to make of this or if it's hurting the coffee shop and other businesses. Of course, I'm a little annoyed by going to the box, getting the ticket, going back to my car etc... on my regular coffee run. But, I always get a prime spot. This location has always been a little tough due to parking permits on Leland and meters related to the Damen Brown Line stop in the evening hours.


How has parking changed for you in Ravenswood?

No comments: