Parking ban in effect

City winter parking restrictions went into effect on Dec. 1, with parking banned overnight on 107 miles of arterial streets regardless of whether snow has fallen.

On the North Side, parking is prohibited between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. through April 1 on Central Avenue from Bryn Mawr Avenue to the Eisenhower Expressway, on Division Street from Austin Avenue to LaSalle Street, and on Kedzie Avenue from Montrose Avenue to Irving Park Road.

Also, on Milwaukee Avenue from Central to Lake Street, on Foster Avenue from Lotus Avenue to Ashland Avenue, on Clark Street from Howard Street to Devon Avenue, and on Devon from Clark to Broadway Street.

Parking also is banned on another 500 miles of streets when there is at least 2 inches of snow on the street, no matter the time of day or the time of the year.

Violators of the overnight parking ban are subject to a $60 tickets and face a minimum towing fee of $150 and a storage fee of $20 per day. Vehicles in violation of the ban will be towed to Pound 2 at 10301 S. Doty Ave. or Pound 6 at 701 N. Sacramento Ave. Violators of the 2-inch parking ban also will be ticketed, and their cars will be towed and relocated nearby.

"Snow can accumulate quickly during winter storms and crews need immediate access to the city’s most vital roads to ensure that they are safe for motorists," Department of Streets and Sanitation commissioner John Tully said in a press release. "Residents can help us keep the roads clear by checking the permanently posted street signs and following the posted restrictions."

The department’s first priority is to clear the city’s main routes and Lake Shore Drive. Cars left parked on these designated roadways obstruct the path of snow plows and prevent routes from being fully plowed and salted when it snows. During a snowfall, a buildup of snow next to parked vehicles on these routes impedes traffic flow.

Both of these parking bans were implemented on designated arterial streets to prevent recurrences of problems that happened in 1967 and 1979 when Chicago came to a traffic standstill due to major snowstorms.

This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.

The Latest From Our Community