Bargoers parked downtown got a break from Evanston City Council on Monday night. But one alderman was concerned the decision won’t always benefit designated drivers.
The council approved with very little debate an ordinance that would extend downtown parking until 3 a.m. The ordinance was designed to support Evanston bars and restaurants that have been granted extended liquor licenses, according to Ald. Arthur Newman (1st).
“Businesses in Evanston pay property taxes and very high rents,” Newman said when the ordinance was introduced at the Nov. 11 council meeting. “There’s no reason why anyone on this council wouldn’t want to work with businesses.”
The council passed new hours in April that allow bars to stay open until 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 a.m. the rest of the week.
Since the extended hours took effect, four Evanston businesses have been granted the new license: The 1800 Club, The Keg of Evanston, Nevin’s Pub and Pete Miller’s Steakhouse.
But the council did not address the parking ordinance at that time and customers continued to be fined if they parked after 2 a.m.
Parking was restricted from 1 to 8 a.m. so that sanitation crews could clean the streets.
But it was not street cleaning that concerned Ald. Ann Rainey (8th), who provided the only vote against the ordinance.
“Basically we are altering our parking policy to accommodate people who are frequenting our bars that have now secured a three o’clock license,” she said. “The problem is, those people are going to get in their parked cars and drive away.”
No aldermen spoke in favor of the ordinance — they just voted for it.
However, an ordinance that would fine drivers who fail to display parking stickers provoked strong debate before being passed by a 6-3 vote.
Ald. Stephen Engelman (7th) charged the ordinance with “quasi-criminalizing” residents who pay for the parking passes but fail to display them.
“This ordinance is designed solely for the purpose of getting the city of Evanston money,” he said. “This is not something that’s necessary for the health, safety or welfare of our citizens.”
But Ald. Gene Feldman (9th) said if Evanston residents were not required to display the sticker, then “a vast number of people would not.”
“What we’d have then is busy police and parking enforcement officials running around and checking the same cars 10, 20, 30 times a year,” he said. He said the ordinance should be passed “unless you want total chaos in this community.”
Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd) said Skokie had passed a similar ordinance, but judges were throwing out the fines if residents could prove they had paid for the permit.
City Manager Roger Crum said drivers who do not display stickers have not created serious problems, but “it is a nuisance to enforcement.”
