The Naperville City Council will consider switching to a flat $3 daily parking fee at the city’s commuter parking lots and offering discounted “bundled” rates for those who will no longer be able to buy monthly parking permits.
A two-tier payment had previously been approved under which some lots would cost $2 a day and others $5 a day but no provision had been made for those who commute five days a week and had been purchasing permits to save money.
Permit holders currently pay $120 per quarter, a system that’s to end Dec. 31. Switching to a $5 daily fee would cost them $300 for the same time period, a 150% increase, Councilwoman Allison Longenbaugh said when the issue was discussed at a meeting last month.
She supports moving to daily parking fees because she believes many permit holders were hanging on to spaces they weren’t using daily, which was not fair to other commuters, she said.
“But I don’t think we should be dismissive of those five-day-a-week commuters because they are using it and this change really penalizes them,” Longenbaugh said.
City staff was asked to research alternative rates and the possibility of creating discounted bundles for commuters who want to pay for an entire week or month at one time.
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As a result of their analysis, an alternative has been proposed. The two-tier payment system, with those using the Route 59 station lot paying $2 and those parking in the Parkview, DuPage Children’s Museum, Burlington and 190 E. 5th Ave. lots pay $5, could be abandoned in favor of a flat $3 fee for all lots.
Commuters also would have the option of purchasing five-day bundles for $14.25 a week, which is 75 cents less than paying $3 a day, or a $54 monthly bundle, saving $6 to $12 depending on how many work days are in the month, under the proposal.
“While this would be an increase in costs for many commuters, rates have remained consistent since 2008 and a rate increase is warranted,” staff said in their recommendation, which will be reviewed at the Tuesday meeting.
The money in the city’s commuter fund has been in decline since 2020 as more people started working from home and commuting less during the COVID-19 pandemic. Offering a discounted rate will not improve that situation and if parking lot use remains low for both discounted and nondiscounted rates, the fund balance will likely to go into the red by 2026, they said.
The council can opt to keep the $2/$5 daily rates or change to the flat $3 fee. The downside to the $3 flat rate, staff said, is it will increase congestion for the spaces closest to the station. Having two rates would help distribute commuters throughout the lots, they said.
Commuters would pay for parking spaces using the kiosks at the stations or by using the PayByPhone app.
When speaking last month, Longenbaugh forewarned that not all commuter schedules have normalized yet and it’s likely the demand for parking will increase.
Some people she knows, she said, have been told by their employers that they will be required to be in the office four days a week in the fall and back full time come Jan. 1, which means they’ll be returning to the daily commuter pool.
Another recommendation from staff is the designation of 24 parking spaces in the Burlington lot and 21 in the Route 59 lot as preferred parking for seniors over age 65 and expectant mothers.