Will Chicago get a second chance at federal funds for better bus service? Photo: celikins/Flickr

Back in April, the feds withdrew a $354 million grant to New York City because Albany failed to pass congestion pricing. Chicago would have received $153 million of that for BRT pilot routes, but as Crain's reports, the city failed to hold up its end of the bargain:

The administration this week quietly pulled back a pending ordinance that would have hiked fees and taxes for off-street parking in garages and on surface lots downtown by as much as $8 a day. The measure was supposed to be the stick for a big carrot: a $153-million federal grant announced last spring to begin a pilot express transportation system known as bus rapid transit.

But the measure, which arrived in the wake of large hikes in parking-meter fees, drew strong opposition from business groups. And even if the mayor had put down the opposition, the ordinance was not approved by the Dec. 31 deadline mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

With only a few days left in the Bush era, U.S. DOT Secretary Mary Peters, who initiated the Urban Partnership Agreement to spur initiatives like this, has indicated that she won't cut Chicago any slack. Which means this story could turn into an early test for incoming secretary Ray LaHood. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley still hopes to get the new parking policy through City Council, and if LaHood continues the urban partnership program, the city may not lose the federal funding after all.

Whether privatization is the right way to unlock New York City's parking riches is debatable. What's not in question is that curbside parking in New York and most U.S. cities is grossly underpriced and could potentially be a crucial source of revenue for much needed transportation improvements. Chicago has chosen to outsource the political will to raise meter prices. Cities with the gumption to raise their own meter prices will keep much more of the revenue. That said, at least Chicago is doing something about its parking dysfunction, and will get the very real benefits of reduced cruising traffic and double parking.

The Bond Buyer reports that Chicago expects to raise more than a billion dollars upfront when it awards a minimum 50-year concession to operate its curbside parking meter system. Ten corporate consortiums are bidding for the contract, which is expected to go before the City Council in the fall. According to Transportation Alternatives' recent report Pricing the Curb [PDF], Chicago will require vendors to use state-of-the-art parking meters that monitor parking space availability and adjust rates to ensure an open space on every block. Chicago will raise meter rates as part of the deal.

Chicago's 36,000 parking meters generated $23 million in 2007. New York City's 75,900 meters produced $114 million. (New York anticipates $120 million in meter revenue in 2008.)

Chicago leads the U.S. in privatization deals or "public-private partnerships." It leased the Chicago Skyway toll-way in a 99-year deal with a multinational consortium in 2005 for $1.82 billion. It followed up that deal with another 99-year lease of four downtown parking garages to a private operator for $563 million in 2006.

Mayor Daley says Chicago will use lump sums from the privatization deals to create a reserve fund which will generate interest for long-term infrastructure investments and to pay down debt and pension obligations. But some Chicago City Council members have expressed concern about the proposed parking privatization and higher meter rates. "We saw that in the Skyway. Fees went up. If we lose control of that, the citizens have nobody to complain to. They're not going to listen to John Q. Citizen," Transportation Committee chairman Tom Allen (38th) told the Sun Times.

Photo: jeanphony/Flickr

First the trends: oil costs are surpassing $100 a barrel, global warming alarm calls are mounting, polluting autos and trucks increasingly clog city streets, and health concerns about a sedentary and fattening society are mounting.

And now the developments: Handy bike-for-hire stations are proving instant hits in Paris and other European cities and seem poised to invade urban America. Moves to add painted bike lanes along city roadways are being eclipsed by proposals for entire networks of "bike boulevards" -- roadways altered radically to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians. And a companion "Complete Streets" movement -- making roadway space for cyclists and pedestrians, not just cars and trucks -- is gaining traction nationwide.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), founder of the Congressional Bike caucus (now 160-bipartisan members strong), claims a new pro-bike politics is forming, that it can mobilize a 1-million-plus national constituency and force clear recognition of the role of bicycles in the next (2009) federal transportation bill. He and the Bike Summit will be pushing a sense of Congress resolution recognizing the potential of bikes to undergird a greener, healthier and more efficient national future.

Cycling, nationwide, still counts for tiny portions of commuting and shopping trips. But Portland's experience shows the potential, Blumenauer insists: since that city's bike program began in the 1990s, the "modal split" for bikes has quadrupled and a $100 million bike industry of bike shops, bike sales, a start of manufacturing and bike tourism, accounting for 1,000 jobs, has emerged.

Paris' "velib" bike rental program -- the name combines "velo" (bicycle) and "liberte (freedom) -- opened last July and registered an astounding 2 million trips in its first 40 days. Almost identical systems are sprouting up across Europe -- in Lyons, Rennes, Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm, Seville, Brussels, Vienna. Many others are soon to come including London and Rome. There's also reported interest in Moscow and Beijing.

This April the first serious U.S. fast bike-rental system is due to open in Washington, D.C., followed shortly by San Francisco. Considering the idea or in active negotiations are Houston, Tucson, San Antonio, Portland, Cambridge and Boulder. Among possible U.S. cities is Chicago -- Mayor Richard Daley tested a Velib bike in Paris last summer and came back a fan. 

Money from leasing four publicly owned downtown parking garages will provide financing for about 100 neighborhood park-improvement projects, from new fieldhouses at five parks to new playgrounds at 50 others, Mayor Richard Daley announced Thursday. The $122 million for the projects also will help pay for what were described as major renovations for existing park facilities such as the South Shore Cultural Center, the Broadway Armory and Garfield Park's historic golden-domed fieldhouse.

"It certainly is the largest amount of capital dollars in one sum that I remember seeing in the last 20 years," said Erma Tranter, president of Friends of the Parks. "This is a unique opportunity to do some major facility construction in neighborhoods of need."

In some cases, money from the parking deal is being combined with state and federal funds and private contributions to get projects off the drawing board, officials said. About $3.5 million from the garage deal "will end up generating a total of over $8.5 million to give the people of this community the kind of park they want and deserve," Daley said. "And that's what we intend to do across the city."

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley:
"As part of our effort to make Chicago the most environmentally friendly big city in the nation, one of our main goals is to promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. Bicycling is a great way to get around Chicago. It's fun, fast, healthy and good for our environment.

"We want to make Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States. We have an ambitious, multi-million dollar program to establish 25 miles of new bike lanes and 200 miles of signed routes and to install 2500 bike racks. Major improvements to the Lakefront Trail are underway, with new bike paths to be built at other locations.

"Please help by biking responsibly and sharing the road with others. Contact us if you have suggestions to improve cycling conditions. Let's work together to make Chicago a better and safer place for biking!"