Tips on parking your motorcycle when visiting Chicago
Chicago Parking Meters. Photo by jasper_vk
If you've spent any time in Chicago recently, you know that the always difficult parking situation has gotten worse. Since the City of Chicago has privatized their parking meters, things haven't gone so smoothly. And that's if you drive a car. If you're traveling to Chicago via motorcycle, things are even worse.
Chicago has no designated motorcycle parking spaces on its streets, unlike more biker friendly cities such as San Francisco. To make matters worse, motorcyclists are expected to pay for a space, print out a display a parking receipt on their bikes. Ok, where? And how, exactly?
Until recently the parking receipts were printed on adhesive backed paper with instructions on the back indicating exactly where to place the receipt on your motorcycle, as well as how. You were instructed to write the license plate number on the front of the ticket (to ensure no one stole yours) and then stick the receipt onto your headlamp. Not the best method in the world, but it worked.
Not anymore.
In an apparent effort to cut costs, Chicago Parking Meters, LLC has started printing the parking receipts on thermofax paper which don't contain instructions on the back and can't be stuck to anything.
So what's to be done? Some have suggested pocketing the receipt and then, in the event you do get ticketed, contesting the ticket using the receipt as proof. Travelers can contest tickets via mail, so this would work, in theory, but seems like an unneccessary hassle after returning from a trip.
Another alternative is to purchase a lockable permit/ticket holder. Login Parking sells just such an item, called a Locking Permit and Pay & Display Holder. They have two models to choose from, $14.99 and $18.99 respectively. They're almost identical, with one containing a plastic sleeve to hold the ticket or permit, and the other a plastic box. While they're not entirely tamper proof, they should work in normal situations.
Motorcyclists should be sure to check out the City of Chicago's "Parking Your Motorcycle or Scooter in Chicago" PDF brochure, courtesy of ABATE of Illinois, before visiting the Windy City.
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