It’s a rare weekday when every all-day parking space downtown isn’t filled by early morning.
That’s because Joliet charges just $2 a day for hundreds of all-day downtown parking spaces, arguably one of the best deals in the Chicago area.
Make that second best. The city charges only $25–less than a dollar a day–for monthly parking in its multilevel garages.
Despite the program’s popularity, it cost $40,000 more than the $1 million the city took in last year, according to Ed Marso, the outside auditor who reviewed Joliet’s annual financial statement.
Marso, responding to Councilman Tom Giarrante at a recent Finance Committee meeting, said it’s important to retain the pay-to-park program. The revenue, he said, allows the city to depreciate the parking garages, as well as to financially justify required repairs and maintenance.
But Councilman Joe Shetina is concerned the all-day portion of the program isn’t serving people who live or work in Joliet. Instead, he said, it’s attracting commuters from outside the city who are riding Metra or Amtrak.
“It’s cheaper here than anywhere,” Shetina said, suggesting it’s time to increase all-day rates. “We’re giving it away right now.”
More Top Picks Best Powered Usb Hubs For Pcs
Steve Jaenco, the city’s superintendent of parking, says the all-day spaces–in both the parking garages and in lots near Union Station–are full by 6:30 a.m. Some spaces open up later in the day, said Jaenco, who added that monthly garage spaces usually have a few vacancies.