Parking squeeze in south loop

New developments are creating a parking problem in the south loop. Welcome to the city! Stop being a jerk and use a bus or train like everyone else New residences put squeeze on public parking Parking issue irks South Loop businesses By Jeff Danna City Beat Editor Theresa Scarbrough/The Chronicle Parking for the Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave., is being taken up by residents of the Prairie Avenue District with permits to park their vehicles on the street, said Corina Carusi, museum curator. Elsewhere in the South Loop, other business owners feel their customers have too few parking options. As new residential buildings continue to sprout up across the South Loop in place of paved lots, public parking has become an increasingly precious commodity for local businesses. Â"WhatÂ's happened with development in the Near South area is itÂ's become a place where people are selling existing property, and a lot of surface level parking is being eaten up by developers,Â" said Bonnie Sanchez-Carlson, president and executive director of the Near South Planning Board. The cityÂ's new zoning ordinance, which took effect Nov. 1, calls for new residential developments to offer approximately one parking space for each housing unit, said Pete Scales, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Because some residents own more than one vehicle, this parking situation can pose a problem, Sanchez-Carlson said. Parking also becomes difficult, she explained, when residents have visitors who bring their own vehicles and must find a place to park temporarily. Such parking predicaments cause an overflow of vehicles onto the street, which Sanchez-Carlson and local business owners said eliminates parking for customers and patrons. Â"We virtually have little or no parking for visitors,Â" said Corina Carusi, curator for the Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave. Â"We were promised by [residential] developers we would have parking.Â" Those who live in buildings surrounding the Glessner House are allowed street parking by permit only, leaving few spaces for museum guests, Sanchez-Carlson said. Of the approximately 75 to 80 parking spaces on the streets around the museum, the Glessner House needs about 20 to 30 on a busy day, and visitors have trouble finding that many, Carusi said. During football season, parking in the Prairie Avenue District becomes more difficult, Carusi explained, because Bears fans leave their vehicles on the streets and walk to nearby Soldier Field. Â"WeÂ've been here since 1966, and weÂ've pushed through the development of this area,Â" Carusi said. Â"Now weÂ're just being swallowed up.Â" Scales is aware of complaints from employees of South Loop businesses, but he doesnÂ't believe the parking situation is dire enough to develop more public lots. He also said the city typically does not fund public parking, preferring to encourage residents to take public transportation. Because the South Loop is close to ChicagoÂ's business district, Scales believes residents should try to alleviate parking concerns by relying less on automobiles and more on alternative modes of transportation. In doing so, people who live in buildings with a unit to parking space ratio of about 1 to 1 can ease vehicle congestion in the parking lots and on the street, Scales said. Â"If the private market bears it out, weÂ'd look into entertaining a parking garage [in the South Loop],Â" he said. But for some businesses, like the Glessner House, a parking garage would be beneficial now. Â"We donÂ't necessarily want free parking,Â" Carusi said. Â"We just feel the visitors have no options. So we wouldnÂ't have a problem with a garage or pay lot.Â" Other South Loop businesses, like BlackieÂ's restaurant, 755 S. Clark St., are also feeling the effects of limited public parking. Since construction began on the Roosevelt Road and Clark Street intersection, Polk Street, which intersects Clark near BlackieÂ's, has served as a detour route for traffic, and the city removed the parking meters BlackieÂ's customers typically use, said Ora Caston, manager of the restaurant. As a result, Caston said, customers are short on parking options elsewhere in the area, and employees sometimes have to drive around PrintersÂ' Row for 15 to 20 minutes in search of parking. Â"People complain they donÂ't want to pay for parking [in a lot] and then pay $15 to $20 for a meal,Â" Caston said. Â"ThatÂ's $30 right there.Â" Ed Hebson, owner of HackneyÂ's on PrintersÂ' Row, 733 S. Dearborn St., said that while his restaurantÂ's lunch customers typically visit on foot, dinner guests usually drive. Because some Printers Row residents use on-street parking, HackneyÂ's customers have trouble finding places to park nearby. HackneyÂ's employees direct guests who drive to pay lots close to the restaurant, but, like those who visit BlackieÂ's, some are not willing to pay several dollars to park while they dine. Still, Scales said, South Loop residents need to remember the neighborhood is not the only area in Chicago experiencing parking woes—finding a place to park can be a hassle anywhere in the city.>