Evanston’s Administration and Public Works Committee Monday voted down a proposal from Ald. Devon Reid (8th) to charge non-residents fees to park at four city recreation facilities.
The proposed fee of $2 an hour with a parking limit of four hours would have applied at the Levy Center, James Park, the Crown Center and Lovelace Park.
Reid said the new charges would help the city fund the hundreds of millions of dollars in needed improvements to city facilities.
But other members of the committee said it would discourage out-of-town residents from paying program fees at the rec centers and encourage them to park on neighborhood streets, causing problems for nearby residents.
Reid’s proposal went down to defeat on a 4-1 vote, with Alds. Clare Kelly ( 1st), Krissie Harris (2nd), Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) and Bobby Burns (5th) voting against it.
City staff said they anticipated the new charge might have generated up to $100,000 a year in revenue. A similar program to charge non-residents for parking along the city’s lakefront has been raising about $300,000 a year.