Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Parking

Chicago Pays the Price for Parking Privatization

It appears Chicago politicians who privatized city parking meter
operations traded short-term political gain for long-term fiscal pain.

faillong.jpgPhoto: Best Recession Ever

Chicago may have left as much as $974 million on the table under the terms of last year's agreement with Morgan Stanley. A June report from the city inspector general [PDF]
blasted the deal for being rushed, secretive and vastly too expensive
for taxpayers. The report's revelations incensed motorists already antagonized by a ragged roll-out of meter rate hikes.

All
in all, it wasn't the money for nothing bargain the City Council seemed
to think it was back in December when Morgan Stanley handed over a
check for $1.157 billion. This manna from Wall Street plugged the
city's gaping budget hole and allowed the council to avoid painful tax
hikes and service cuts. It also enticed lawmakers in Los Angeles and
Philadelphia, where officials were considering their own parking
privatization deals.

In return for the upfront cash, Chicago
leased its 36,000 parking meters for the next 75 years to the
Morgan-led consortium, and granted it the authority to double and
triple meter rates. By 2013 downtown meters are slated to double to $6
per hour; neighborhood meter rates are to double to $2 per hour.

The
deal was pushed hard by Mayor Richard Daley. The core of his
privatization argument was that Chicago lacked the political will to
raise meter rates and that desperate fiscal times demanded unlocking
the value of public parking. He noted that city meters were only
generating about $20 million a year, and because of neighborhood
resistance, meter prices hadn't gone up in 20 years. His conclusion was
that Chicago had to outsource the political will to raise meter rates.

However,
the inspector general's report concludes that, "If Chicago were to keep
control of the parking-meter system and operate it under the same terms
as the private company, the system would be worth approximately $2.13
billion (in present dollars)," or $974 million more than the city
received. Ironically, another cost of Chicago parking privatization was
that it
quashed a number of neighborhood-supported parking improvement
districts, in which higher meter fees were to be invested in local
pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvements.

While
public-private partnerships can be appealing because they require
motorists to pay more of the actual cost of driving, are these deals
really the only way to overcome political resistance to higher motoring
fees?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

La Verne Celebrates Metro A Line Station, Foothill Extension to Open Soon

The new $1.5 billion 9.1-mile Foothill A Line extension construction is complete, and Metro is currently testing. Rail service is expected to debut in the next couple months.

June 21, 2025

Peaceful Protestors Take to Arcadia Park to Condemn ICE Raids

Demonstrators gathered Friday evening to demand an end to immigration raids in the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.

June 21, 2025

Brief Updates from June Metro Committee Meetings: Ridership, Service Changes, and More

Metro ridership is growing, Metro low income (LIFE) program analysis, service changes this Sunday, Metro prepares for World Cup soccer, and an upcoming report on ICE rail impacts

June 20, 2025

As ICE Continues Assault on Vulnerable Workers, Groups Launch Fundraiser to Assist Street Vendors

Empty streets and fears of being disappeared off street corners are hurting vendors' ability to stay afloat

June 19, 2025
See all posts