Des Plaines officials targeting O'Hare travelers parking on city streets
O'Hare International Airport travelers who try to save a few bucks by parking on residential streets in nearby Des Plaines soon could face tickets and fines.
Alderman Mark Walsten, whose 6th Ward on the city's southeast side is closest to airport property, is tired of people leaving their cars on public streets for days while they're on out-of-town trips.
He's also frustrated by auto-based businesses, such as rental-car companies, that park cars on streets in his ward rather than at the airport.
"These people ... want to be cheap and save money," he said during Monday's city council meeting. "The people in the 6th Ward don't want that anymore. I don't want that anymore."
Public Works and Engineering Director Tim Oakley on Monday showed photographs of a person who appeared to have parked on Magnolia Street north of Touhy Avenue and then loaded luggage into an SUV from a ride-hailing service.
Another photograph shows four white Teslas that Walsten said all had Maryland license plates and were parked for an extended time on a stretch of Pratt Avenue.
"They were just sitting there. Free parking on Des Plaines streets," Walsten said.
To solve the problem, Oakley proposed the city ban overnight parking on residential streets, but Walsten wasn't keen on that idea. Walsten instead suggested the city post resident-parking-only signs on Cedar, Scott, Magnolia and Hickory streets and some others.
The restriction would be enforced by police officers who would respond to complaints rather than patrol the neighborhoods seeking scofflaws, Chief David Anderson said.
"We do not have the staff to just drive down the street and run all the plates," he said.
To avoid having visitors' cars ticketed, residents should call police ahead of gatherings, Anderson said.
Tickets would be handled at the municipal level, he added.
Mayor Andrew Goczkowski supports the idea.
Third Ward Alderman Sean Oskerka said he'd like to see the restrictions expand beyond the 6th Ward. Long-term street parking has been an issue in his ward, too, especially trucks parked overnight.
"It's like work crews that drop off some people and then carpool (to) other places," Oskerka said. "Or they're working in the area, so they leave their truck there overnight and go home with somebody else so their tools are in the same spot in the morning."
The city council could vote on a draft proposal as soon as Nov. 6.
If a policy is enacted, city officials will reach out to residents to educate them on the rules and the procedures needed to avoid being ticketed.