THE ZIP CAR DRIVES KATHY POSNER CRAZY
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Zip Car
My condo building owns the garage on which the building sits. Unit owners can not own individual spaces but our monthly parking price is less than what we charge non-resident parkers. Because we allow hourly parking also, the garage is a revenue stream for the building in the same way parking in city-owned lots is revenue for the city. But there are some problems in both cases when outside deals are made.
In my building, if a non-resident wants a reserved space the fee is $389/month. But the Board made a deal with Zip Car that they get two spaces at only $220/month per space. That is a yearly loss of revenue of $4,056 to the buildings coffers. The Board’s explanation for this seemingly “inside deal” was that it made it convenient for residents who don’t have their own personal car to have easy access to the automobile sharing service Zip Car provides. So those people who do own a car and have to pay a higher parking price, gas, repairs, license fees, etc. are subsidizing those who do not. That seems unfair to me.
Last week the Chicago City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate approved the lease of city-owned parking spaces to the car sharing company, I-Go. If the full City Council approves the deal next week, I-Go's agreement will be valid through Dec. 31, 2016. The company will receive 10 parking spaces across five city-owned parking lots. The lots are located at 2418 W. Division St. in the 26th Ward, 740 N. Ashland Ave. and 1311 N. Moorman St. in the 1st Ward, 2019 W. Lawrence Ave. in the 47th Ward, and 5430 W. Gale St. in the 45th Ward. Each lot will supply two parking spaces.
Since during the length of the lease, the city is expected to receive $50,000 in revenue it sounds like a good deal until one hears the monthly per space price of the deal, only $85 per car! I also learned that last year, the city executed the same type of agreement with Zip Car. There is no tax-paying citizen in the City of Chicago who gets to rent a parking space at that low a fee. Because I don’t know the exact price those monthly spaces usually rent for, I cannot estimate the exact loss of revenue if the car companies had to pay the full price like everyone else does. I do know though that the deal is unfair to car-owning tax-payers who can’t get a price like this.
I guess we need to hire our own lobbyists to protect our rights.
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