If you thought parking without a campus permit was tough last year, try doing it this year.
City Council passed a temporary ordinance June 26 prohibiting people without district A residents’ permits from parking during the day and evening on much of Orrington Avenue and Emerson Street.
From 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. only permit-holding residents will be allowed to park on Orrington Avenue between Emerson and Colfax streets. Non-residents also will be banned from parking on Emerson Street between Orrington and Sherman avenues.
The ordinance, which took effect this week for a three-month trial period, replaces the two-hour parking regulations on those streets.
The new law will heavily impact Northwestern commuter students, who often park on Orrington and Emerson. The streets are also popular parking spots for underclassmen who live on campus and can’t get NU permits.
Weinberg sophomore Jeff Newberg said he was planning to park on those streets this year. Now he doesn’t know what to do.
“It’s terrible because that’s totally where I was going to park,” Newburg said. “It’s a shame, and it’s going to suck for everyone.”
While the ordinance will be unpopular among NU students, people who own homes on the affected blocks will benefit from the change.
Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) and city staff held a public meeting June 7 to hear residents’ complaints about inadequate parking during the day.
“There’s so much parking coming from people who don’t live in the neighborhood that the residential streets become parking lots,” said Jean Baucom, city parking system manager. “The restriction is designed to maintain the residential atmosphere of residential areas.”
Robert Atkins, an Evanston resident who lives on one of the affected streets, said he and his neighbors have always had trouble finding parking spaces in front of their homes. He said he hopes the new ordinance helps residents reclaim their right to the streets.
“The students have alternatives,” he said. “They either can leave their car at home or park in a lot far away.”
Newburg said he sympathizes with the residents — to a point.
“I totally understand, but that’s part of living next to a university,” he said. “Dealing with college students sucks, but you should know what you’re getting into before you move there.”
Students who live in apartment buildings along the two streets can apply for a residents’ permit by bringing proof of residence to the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., Newman said.
Eugene Sunshine, NU’s senior vice president for business and finance, said the change bothers him because of its impact on students. He said neither Newman nor any other city official contacted the university about the new ordinance.
“No one ever talked to us, and there are a lot of questions we have about it,” Sunshine said. “You’d think at least they’d have the courtesy to talk to us about the ramifications.”
Newman said he contacted Ronald Nayler, NU’s associate vice president for facilities management, a year-and-a-half ago to discuss a possible change in the regulations.
Whether or not parking is a problem for Evanston residents, Benjy Kahan, a Weinberg junior who lives on campus and just bought a car, said the change is just another way for the city to take a jab at the university.
“I think it’s indicative of the anti-Northwestern sentiments Evanston generally tries to assert,” Kahan said.
