Downers Grove Council OKs Increases to Commuter Parking Fees

Parking rates at Downers Grove's three commuter lots will likely increase by the middle of next year, but residents won't be paying as much as initially projected.

The Downers Grove Council approved a rate increase Tuesday for quarterly parking permits at the Belmont Road, Main Street and Fairview Avenue train stations. Parking fees for residents could rise to $90 for residents, up from $80 at the Belmont and Main stations and $75 at Fairview.

The non-resident fee was set at $130, up from $110 at Belmont and Main and $105 at Fairview.

If the new rates are approved by Metra and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, they would go into effect in the third quarter of 2013, according to Village Manager Dave Fieldman.

The village council took up the issue of commuter parking permits at its Dec. 4 meeting as part of its 2012-13 budget implementation. That night, a proposal was submitted by village staff that would have increased quarterly fees by anywhere from 6 percent to 25 percent.

Commissioner Bob Barnett requested the council delay any action on the item to allow consideration of an alternative plan. During a brief discussion of the staff's proposal, council members expressed concern about raising resident fees up to 25 percent, while non-residents would see an increase of just 9 percent.

Under the staff's proposal, the quarterly fee for residents would have increased to $100 at the Belmont and Main Street stations, and $80 at Fairview. For non-residents, the fee would have been $120 Belmont and Main Street, and $105 at Fairview.

"The proposal that was before us last week, in my opinion, put too much of a burden on residents as opposed to non-residents," Barnett said Tuesday. 

The alternative proposal submitted by Barnett initially called for a $90 fee for residents and $140 for non-residents, which would have increased annual revenue by about $81,500, according to village documents.

Barnett amended his proposal before the vote, saying its projected revenue is more in line with the amount budgeted by village staff for 2013, about $65,000.

The proposed increases to commuter parking rates came about after last year's Downtown Parking Study, which found that the quarterly fees for commuter parking spaces were lower than nearby stations, according to village documents.

The study, conducted by Rich and Associates, found that spaces in nearby Lisle and Naperville cost anywhere from $105 to $145 per quarter.

The rates in Downers Grove have gone unchanged since 2001, according to village officials.

"It's never fun to pay more for anything," Barnett said. "An increase like this, there's never such a thing as a good time, but I'd suggest that after a better part of 12 years, it's probably due."

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