Seven dollars a day, three days a week. Add the $60 it takes to fuel a car driving from the South Side of Chicago to Evanston, and the cost is just too high for Diondria Williams to pay.
Williams, a cashier in Willie’s Food Court at Northwestern, said the cost of getting to work takes a toll on her $8.20 per hour salary. When she can’t pay the $7 daily fee to park on campus, she parks on the street or takes public transportation-options that aren’t much better.
“I take three trains and two buses to get here,” Williams said. “Taking the bus is cheaper, but it’s a hassle.”
Taking public transportation has caused Williams, a single mother, to arrive at work several hours late in the past week because she had to take her 7-year-old son to school.
At an Evanston Parking Committee meeting Jan. 27, members discussed a plan to provide affordable parking and fill vacant parking garage spots by providing discounted rates to minimum-wage employees. However, the plan is being redeveloped after meeting opposition from the committee, said Rickey Voss, manager of Evanston’s Parking Systems, who developed the plan.
“My heart was in the right place, but there were some legitimate questions,” said Voss, referring to the discount proposed for lower-income individuals.
Ald. Coleen Burrus (9th), a committee member who supported the plan, said she has seen firsthand the struggle some workers have with paying parking fees.
“People who are making minimum wage, they’re really struggling to make it,” Burrus said. “We’re having them go plug meters with money, and it’s costing them more money.”
Williams said when she parks on the street, she has to spend her break moving her car.
“I would either miss my break to move my car or have to find the Civic Center and pay a ticket,” she said, “even for being six or seven minutes late.”
To avoid having to move their cars during the day, Evanston employees can purchase an $85 monthly permit for city parking garages. While Voss said the garage can be the most cost-efficient parking plan, he said it depends on how much time a person spends in Evanston.
Voss called Evanston’s parking fees “reasonable,” especially when compared to parking rates in Chicago. However, he said everyone has trouble paying for parking.
“In these economic times, it affects everybody all over,” Voss said. “It depends on their circumstances or their employment status at the time.”
Jonathan Perman, executive director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber supports a parking pricing plan based on demand for parking spots.”We want parking rates to be based upon demand for parking, not set at a standard price,” he said. “Garages would fill up, and people who can’t afford parking right now would be able to afford it.”Perman said he disagreed with the discount plan proposed at the Parking Committee meeting because parking is not a necessity. Low-cost parking should be available to anyone, he said.For now Williams is still taking the bus and the train to work.”I have to get up at 5:45 in order to take my son to school,” she said. “In a way it’s bad, but I don’t have much of a choice.”
