Parking garages should be allowed in Chicago’s alleys

A letter to Alderman Daley in support of her proposed ordinance to ease restrictions on placing parking garages in alleys. Alley access should be encouraged to preserve the pedestrian environment and valuable curbside parking.

By Peter Skosey
March 25, 2003

March 25, 2003

Alderman Vi Daley
735 W. Wrightwood
Chicago, IL 60614

Dear Alderman Daley:

I am writing to give the strong support of the Metropolitan Planning Council to your recent ordinance amending section 10-20-435 of the municipal code relative to alley access. This is positive from an urban design perspective and complements the good work of the Mayor’s Zoning Reform Commission. We applaud you for recognizing this inconsistent rule and taking steps to correct it.

The requirement to garner permission from 50 percent of alley residents in order to gain access to a six space or larger garage goes against good urban design. Alley access should be encouraged above all else and anything that makes that difficult should be viewed as a barrier and removed. Curb cuts — which are required for access to garages from streets — disrupt the public way, hamper pedestrian movement and eliminate much needed curb-side parking. The municipal code should encourage the use of existing alleys to access all parking structures, thereby reducing, and even eliminating, curb cuts.

Indeed, recommendations from the Mayor’s Zoning Reform Commission have been drafted to encourage alley access in almost all new residential development where an alley exists. Even when an alley is not present, the Commission is pushing for a limited number of curb cuts.

Please let me know if there is anything further we can do to support your efforts. Thank you again for noticing this conflicting rule. We look forward to its correction.

Sincerely,

Peter Skosey
Vice President of External Relations, Metropolitan Planning Council

Cc: William Banks, Thomas Allen, Carrie Austin, Jesse Granato, Dorothy Tillman, William Beavers, James Balcer, Virginia Rugai, Leonard DeVille, Walter Burnett, Ike Carothers, Ray Suarez, Brian Doherty, Patrick Levar, Gene Schulter , Burton Natarus, Alicia Berg, Jack Swenson, Ed Kus, Kirk Bishop