CHICAGO (CBS) — It was a rude awakening Monday for hundreds of Chicagoans who had their cars towed overnight – as an enforcement measure The city’s winter parking ban went into effect.
The ban usually goes into effect quickly and automatically when the clock strikes 3 a.m. on December 1, as cars parked on 105 miles of major Chicago freeways are towed away. In a gesture unheard of this year, the city did not issue the ban on December 1 because Sunday was part of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Instead, the city has opted to put warning flyers on cars.
But when early Monday morning arrived, the tow trucks were ready to tow cars to the pound. The city said 244 cars were towed overnight from Sunday to Monday.
One of those cars belonged to Connor Wheeler.
“I went to the gym, worked out, had my bag in my hand — and then my car was gone,” Wheeler said.
Another was from Keileh Callahan, who had recently moved to town.
“I’m a teacher, and I had to get up super early, and my car got towed,” Callahan said.
The purpose of the ban that sent Wheeler and Callahan’s cars to the city was to seize lot 701 N. Sacramento Blvd. in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, ensuring snow plows, CTA buses and emergency vehicles can move freely through the city’s busiest streets when snow begins to fall.
“I’ve lived here for three months, so I had no idea,” Callahan said. “I learned my lesson.”
Contrary to what some have posted on social media, this ban does not apply to all major streets in Chicago – in fact, it does not apply to many streets in general. But signs are posted stating the ban is in effect, and yet motorists are caught off guard every year.
Affected Chicago roadways include portions of, but not necessarily all of, Foster Avenue, Division Street, Madison Street, Midway Plaisance, 79th Street, 103rd Street, Milwaukee Avenue, Archer Avenue, Central Avenue, Kedzie Avenue, State Street, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Cottage Grove Avenue. Clark Street and Devon Avenue are also part of the ban, but only in Rogers Park, and Cermak Road is affected about a half-mile in the South Loop.
Parts of other streets in Chicago were also affected. The city has a map.
Anyone who parked on those streets from Sunday to Monday woke up to find their car gone – to the Sacramento Boulevard lot or to the one at 10301 S. Doty Ave.
“Kind of a burden in my day,” Wheeler said, “and now I’ve got to figure this out, and God knows how long this is going to take.”
Friends Mohit Aggarwal and Avi Oberi both had their cars towed away.
“It has been very difficult,” Aggarwal said. “I’ve been trying to get my car since this morning.”
Aggarwal and Oberi both spent money on trips going from lot to lot to find their vehicles.
“We stood in line for about half an hour to 45 minutes, and when we got to the counter, they said, ‘Your car isn’t there, you have to go to another place,’” Oberi said.
The tow isn’t cheap either. The owners of the towed cars were issued a $60 fine, a $150 towing fee and a $25 per day storage fee.
“I have to do more tutoring to get the money back,” Callahan said.
Let the misfortune of these motorists remind us that the winter parking ban is in effect until April 1 from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., regardless of whether there is snow.
Charlie de Mar
