Parking Meter Rates To Quadruple

Rates for most city parking meters will increase to $1 an hour in the coming months as a result of Mayor Richard Daley's deal to lease the spots for $1.1 billion to a private firm.

Two-third of the city's meters now cost 25 cents an hour, but once the paperwork is finalized, any metered spot costing less than $1 per hour will increase to $1 next year, city officials said today. And by 2013, those same metered spots will cost $2 an hour, according to City Hall.

The most expensive meters, which are found in the Loop, cost $3 an hour now. They will increase to $3.50 an hour next year and $6.50 by 2013.

City Hall officials said that after the first five years of the 75-year parking meter lease, rate hikes will be subject to approval by alderman and are expected to be at the rate of inflation.

The $1.1 billion to city coffers will come from Chicago Parking Meter LLC, which is made up of two Morgan Stanley infrastructure funds.

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Comments

[ESerafina42]

Whoop-de-doo - the rates downtown in my city have been $1.00/hr for years and before that were $.50/hr for years. (Although as far as I know, none of them are $3.00.)