In the latest episode of the ever-tense relationship between Northwestern and Evanston, a plan to slap parking scofflaws near Welsh-Ryan Arena and Ryan Field with $125 fines sailed through an unusually taciturn City Council on Monday night.
The fine applies to any driver who lacks a residential permit to park on the streets that surround NU’s athletic complex. Targeting the ongoing basketball season — and eyeing future mega-events at the rebuilt Ryan Field — the new stricture will kick in two hours before large events.
Arriving just over a year after Mayor Daniel Biss broke a now-infamous tie allowing NU to use a rebuilt Ryan Field for commercial events, the 8-0 vote on the new penalty came with little of that debate’s fractious fanfare. Yet as the University and Evanston battle stadium foes in court, the looming April municipal election could again raise the town-gown temperature.
“Northwestern and its traffic consultants acknowledged during the whole planning process that there would be a resident-only parking district around the stadium,” said Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th), whose ward includes NU and Ryan Field.
The penalty itself took years to craft. An initial push for parking restrictions arose around an earlier controversy over hosting concerts at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Revelle added.
The city had allowed the University to host commercial events at the arena starting in 2019. The two-year pilot program lost traction amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and City Council ultimately did not renew it. Proposals for parking restrictions then took a back seat.
Still, the arena uproar only presaged residents’ outrage at NU’s plans to rebuild Ryan Field into a commercial event venue. The brouhaha arrived at City Council in late 2023. An audience altercation marked the council’s initial vote, where Biss’ tie-break inspired a campaign — affectionately named “Better than Biss” — to topple him in the next election.
A year later, as Ryan Field construction crews have tested some residents’ patience, neighbors have continued to scorn the parking chaos that sometimes accompanies sports games.
“I’ll tell you what happened last Friday night,” resident Ken Proskie said during public comment Monday. “There was an Illinois basketball game next door at Northwestern. I couldn’t get out of my alley because it was partially blocked by an Escalade.”
Revelle put an urgent spin on the parking penalties. Usually, the council votes to introduce an ordinance and then takes a final vote at its next meeting. However, Revelle asked that the council suspend the rules to both introduce and take action on her proposal on Monday. A survey of hundreds of residents showed “really strong support” for the restriction, she added.
A memorandum by city staff said the $125 penalty — higher than other residential parking violations — would seem “large enough to be a deterrent” for attendees. Revelle said she expected installation of signage after New Year’s Day and then for enforcement to cover the rest of basketball season.
The restriction covers a wide swath of the residential area around the athletic complex. Its looming imposition could ultimately serve as a test for larger Ryan Field events.
NU expects its $850 million project to build a new Ryan Field to finish in time for the 2026 football season. Many residents have directed their chagrin at the commercial events Northwestern plans to host at the rebuilt stadium. They say the events will unleash a gauntlet of ill effects on a once-peaceful neighborhood.
In remarks to The Daily, Biss lauded Revelle’s discussion with residents on the new restriction. He again defended his stance last year in favor of NU, citing the city’s pact with the University on community benefits.
“The long-term reaction will be visible after the stadium is built,” Biss told The Daily in reference to the Ryan Field controversy. “But I think it’s a really important achievement and one that I see a lot of support for.”
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Ryan Field rivals move to quash NU’s ‘burdensome’ subpoenas
