A Chicago suburb is getting attention for its plan to offer local residents the chance to buy guaranteed VIP parking at its Metra commuter train station for $1,200 per space, per year. News outlets report it’s the first time such a plan has been launched at a public transit station.
Barrington, Ill., plans to offer about 90 reserved spaces in a close-in lot to the Metra commuter train station for the annual fee. Residents who buy them will be guaranteed their spots until 9:30 a.m. every day (late arrivals will be able to park in other spaces in the lot), and city administrators said the plan came from public demand to offer priority parking for local residents; locals complain that they sometimes can’t find parking because cars from other towns fill the lots.
VIP parking hopefuls must submit applications and deposits by the end of June, and a lottery will determine who gets the spaces. The fees will go to pay for spaces in a new lot the city purchased earlier this year, along with platform heat lamps, maintenance and upkeep, and a new traffic signal at the lot’s entrance. Read the whole story here.