PENNANT PARKING PREMIUM
City Council finalizes doubling of meter rates in Wrigleyville
With the Cubs home opener days away, the City Council on Wednesday finalized plans to double parking meter rates at 1,100 spaces around Wrigley Field amid fears that “surge pricing” could someday spread throughout the city.
“Whenever the city has found a way to make some money, they tend to expand it,” said West Side Ald. Chris Taliaferro ( 29th), noting revenue from city red- light cameras.
For now, the pilot program will be limited to 1,100 parking spaces in the Wrigley Field area generally bounded by Irving Park Road, Southport, Belmont and Broadway.
Within those boundaries, parking meter rates will double from $ 2 an hour to $ 4 an hour starting at 5 p. m. on April 10. The new rate will begin two hours before a game, concert or special event at Wrigley, and extend for seven hours.
The new parking rules were among several Council happenings Wednesday, including:
Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly ( 42nd) watering down his plan to silence street musicians on Michigan Avenue and State Street.
Instead of banning the music altogether on downtown’s two marquee streets, Reilly is proposing limiting the music to the hours of the day when there is the greatest amount of pedestrian traffic. That is between the hours of 11 a. m. and 1 p. m. and 5 p. m. and 6 p. m. on weekdays, and between 1 p. m. and 3 p. m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Reilly also narrowed the boundaries of the targeted area. It would run from the east side of Michigan Avenue to the west side of Dearborn and from the north side of Oak Street to the north side of Van Buren.
The restricted hours would apply to street musicians whose performances include “bullhorn or electronic amplification or a musical instrument or other object that is struck manually or with a stick or similar item to produce a sharp percussive noise.”
By softening his original ordinance, Reilly avoided an almost certain defeat on the City Council floor amid opposition from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Black and Hispanic caucuses. And the American Civil Liberties Union had threatened a court challenge to an earlier proposal.
The City Council voting to let young people between the ages of 18 and 20 serve liquor in restaurants and sell unopened bottles of booze at supermarkets. The legal drinking age in Illinois is 21.
Minors still won’t be allowed to open bottles and cans, or pour or mix drinks. But they will be able to serve and sell liquor after complet- ing a state- sponsored course about “responsible alcohol service consumption.”
Supporters say the new ordinance will help speed retail sales and provide more jobs for unemployed youth.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel introducing an ordinance updating the city’s zoning code to allow gun ranges to be located in more areas.
In January, a federal appeals court ruled that the city went too far in restricting gun ranges. The new proposed ordinance is tailormade to abide by that ruling by allowing gun ranges in business, commercial and manufacturing districts with a special- use permit.
The special- use permit will require neighbors to be notified and heard during a hearing held by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The mayor’s ordinance also allows individuals under the age of eighteen to enter shooting ranges, if accompanied and supervised by a parent or guardian or certified firearms instructor.