There soon may be five residential parking zones for the South Loop based on an ordinance by 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti.
“This ordinance reflects the findings of a long-term analysis by the Chicago Department of Transportation,” said Fioretti. “Currently there are too many different parking zones in the South Loop,” he continued. “The current residential parking plan has created confusion and has been difficult to understand. In addition, the entire process is cumbersome, with many of the residents having to obtain letters from my office in order to purchase the parking permits.
If you don't like the map we created above and prefer to read, the zones would be:
Zone One: Congress Parkway (north boundary) to Roosevelt Road (south boundary) and the Chicago River (west boundary) to Lake Shore Drive (east boundary).
Zone Two: Roosevelt Road (north) to 18th Street (south) and from the Chicago River (west) to Michigan Avenue (east).
Zone Three: Roosevelt Road (north) to 18th Street (south) and Michigan Avenue (west) to Lake Shore Drive (east).
Zone Four: 18th St. (north) to Stevenson Expressway (south) and Clark St. (west) to Michigan Ave. (east).
Zone Five: 18th St. (north) to Stevenson Expressway (south) and Michigan Ave. (west) to Lake Shore Dr. (east), excluding McCormick Place.
While we don't know many of the details or if this would help alleviate any of the current issues, we have to imagine it would help in some capacity. The South Loop parking situation never seemed to make intuitive sense to us, but this plan seems a little more straightforward in regard to normal shapes (unlike the new ward map which makes a mockery out of your standard shapes).
Hopefully this helps. What are your thoughts?