Chicago Park District installs new payment parking gates at 8 lakefront beach lots
It's almost beach season, and if you're thinking about driving there, be advised that there will be a change in how you park.
The Chicago Park District has already introduced a new approach to handling some beach lots as the season gets closer.
On a week where the temperatures could get into the 80's, people will venture to Chicago beaches, and so here's what people who plan on driving there will find.
"We have to pay, or we're not getting in, that's how I see it," one woman said.
A few weeks back, the gates to the parking lot entrance at Rainbow Beach went up, leaving visitors questioning why they couldn't just pull in and park.
"It's crazy that we got to pay to look at the water," another woman said.
Paying to park at beaches isn't new, but gates preventing you from pulling in are.
What happens now is that after your plate is read, you are allowed to stay for free, but for only 15 minutes. After that, you're on the parking meter, which maxes out at $24 for more than nine hours.
"That's not fair, a lot of people bring their kids up here," the first woman said.
But it's not just Rainbow Beach. CBS Skywatch spotted the same newly installed gates at eight other beaches, including North Avenue, Foster, Oakwood, Dusable Lake Shore Drive, and 55th and South Shore.
"This is our community, so I think it's a money thing. It's not to keep people off the beach," the first woman said. "To pay to get in here, I will not be coming very often."
According to the park district's website, those new gates are designed to "enhance the parking experience," make more spots available for people, increase security, and make sure people comply with the parking rates, but most people said it's leaving the parking lots empty.
"You have already not been investing in these South Side parks, and then, additionally, you are putting more financial burden to the struggling community," said Ana Marija Sokovic.
Sokovic is the past president of the Rainbow Beach Park Advisory Council. She started an online petition to get the Chicago Park District to change the parking gates, insisting that forcing people to pay for over 15 minutes, even for sitting in their vehicle, doesn't keep the parks friendly.
"So, it seems that they are really not doing neither their own due diligence, like, to find sources, you know, of the revenue, but, instead of that, they are imposing fees, you know, on the struggling community," she said.