Chicago's Privatized Parking Meters: Fiasco, or Success Story?
24 January 2010 - 9:00am
The City of Chicago, in a much criticized move, recently privatized its parking enforcement. Stephen Goldsmith says the program should be celebrated instead of booed.
Goldsmith says, "Privatization of parking meters worked in Chicago. The city exchanged a revenue stream for a lump-sum payment, and rid itself of an operational headache to boot. The meters are more modern, more attractive, and even the much-derided rate hikes — only tangentially linked to the outsourcing — make economic sense."
Source:
Governing Magazine, January 20, 2010
»
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
- The Largest Urban Park In America Coming To Chicago - Dec 20, 2011
- Chicago's Bikes and Rail Infrastructure Get Federal Boost - Dec 17, 2011
- The New Trend in Highways: Capping Them - Oct 28, 2011
- Chicago's Private Parking Meter Bungle - Nov 22, 2009
- Chicago Privatizes Parking - Dec 04, 2008
“
No matter how one wanted to organize the ideal city, housing security would be part of it. No community can function effectively if large numbers of its residents are regularly displaced or perpetually at risk of being displaced.
”
Planetizen picks
Contribute
- What the Feds are Doing to Connect Housing Policy to Health Policy
- Why the Politics of Climate Change Matter
- Waste Disposal Becomes Sexy
- Murky Future for Two of D.C.'s Architectural Gems
- The Story Behind One of the Most Controversial Buildings in the Country
- The Benefits of Creating Hybrid Zoning Codes
- The Appeal of In-Town Big Box
- The Growing Appeal of Drinking From the Toilet
- How and Why Does an Architect Become Famous?
- Could Good Design Have Prevented the Housing Crisis?
Volunteerism Plays Critical Role in Reaching World’s Millennium Development Goals
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Feb 10, 2012
www.flickr.com
|
privatizing parking meters
The argument sounds convincing, but why must a city (or government) rid itself of a public resource in order to modernize it? Why not just privatize all governmental functions? (don't answer - while it was meant to be rhetorical, I can see that some libertarians will take it literally).
Rather than ridding itself of public functions, would it not make sense for government to modernize them? Look at SF's Smart Parking Management Program, and Redwood City's new parking system - much more relevant examples for how cities should adapt their parking management programs rather than selling then for a one-time lump sum that operates more like a meeting a drug-users never-ending demand, IMO.
Irvin Dawid, Palo Alto, CA