It always seems to come as a March surprise—the appearance of tickets on cars parked in areas where crime is virtually non-existent in other times of the year.
But it IS March, and in Evanston that means the beginning of street-cleaning season, even though a couple of multi-inch snows are still likely to fall before the weather turns warm for good.
If you’ve driven around Evanston the last day or two, you can’t help but have seen those telltale parking tickets tucked under the front windshield blades on cars that otherwise appear to be legally parked.
Until you read the signs, that is. Street-cleaning parking regulations are in effect from March 1 through Dec. 15.
A look at the street-cleaning page on the city’s website might be worth the two minutes or so that’s required to bring you up to speed on what is expected of you.
For example, if you happen to be illegally parked in one-side street cleaning areas, you may be subject to a ticket AND a towing charge.
The ticket for violating the street cleaning ordinance is $35, but if you wait for more than 10 days to pay it, the charge increases to $65. And if the vehicle is towed, “then there will also be a tow charge of $145 plus storage charges when the resident picks up his or her vehicle from North Shore Towing.”
But the real surprise comes when you were accustomed to a street-cleaning time of noon to 4 p.m. only to find that the time has been changed to 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. So be sure to read those signs carefully on the block where you live.
In the meantime, prepare to enjoy the glorious spring, summer, and fall days that make living in Evanston such a wonderful time to be alive.
Email notification
You can sign up on the street cleaning page of the city’s website to get text/email notifications about when streetcleaning will happen in your neighborhood. Saves trying to figure out if this is the third Thursday or whatever.