Sit through enough government meetings on the economics and public policy implications of parking lot rates and you’ll get a twitch.
The overlords at the CTA ought to be twitching but good after their decision to balloon the daily parking fee at Forest Park’s Blue Line terminus raised the income per vehicle to five bucks but sliced the number of cars in one of its two lots from full to near empty.
One longtime user, the fellow who called our attention to this story, estimates there are now fewer than 10 cars in the spacious lot. Last week, the CTA board tweaked parking rates at lots it owns in the city – some were raised, some lowered. But the Forest Park lots went unchanged.
The good news? The Village of Forest Park also owns a parking lot at the end of the Blue Line and its $3 daily fee has never looked so good. And the lot, village officials say, has never been so full.
