[BCNnet] article on private parking lot toll on fishermen, birders

[Alan Anderson]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0059_01C367FD.E4AF8200
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

>From Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times, Outdoor Columnist Dale Bowman =
expands on something Jim Landing mentioned on IBET recently - the =
adverse effects on many (fishermen, birders, other outdoor enthusiasts), =
that the Chicago Park District's plan to privatize parking, especially =
around Lincoln Park/Jarvis Bird Sanctuary would have.
Alan Anderson, casresearch@comcast.net , Des Plaines.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/outdoors/cst-spt-out20.html
Privatizing parking lots will take its toll on fishermen=20

August 20, 2003=20


    =20



Chuck Ridder paused to catch his breath.=20

There's soon to be more of that for birders, anglers or strollers east =
of Belmont harbor. Either that, or be ready to grab your wallet.=20

The Chicago Park District has privatized the three parking lots to the =
right of the Recreation Drive exit from Lake Shore Drive. The toll booth =
is already built. And, what a shocker, Standard Parking will run it. =
It's expected to be operational within 10 days, said Katherine Gierut, =
park district spokeswoman. It will be $5.=20

In the middle of the lots, Ridder and I stopped as he remembered his =
first lakefront fishing trip.=20

"I was 14,'' said Ridder, a 75-year-old retiree from Western Springs. =
"We lived at Roosevelt and Keeler. My brother and I took the streetcar =
to the clubhouse at Randolph Street [Columbia Yacht Club]. That must've =
been back in the war [WWII]. We didn't know what we were doing, but we =
were still catching fish [herring].''=20

Ridder knows what he's doing now. He invented a unique method of =
lakefront shore fishing. His "strolling'' technique is bank trolling by =
walking and pulling a No. 5 Shad Rap (smeared red on the breast with a =
marker) behind a leader and a small weight.=20

Tuesday morning, he agreed to do another form of walking.=20

I had collared him at Montrose harbor for an experiment. How long would =
it take a lakefront regular to navigate from the closest free parking by =
the tennis courts to the mouth of Belmont harbor?=20

Ridder unpacked his gear from his white Dodge pickup. That's not =
unusual. He usually puts in 300 days a year fishing on the lakefront.=20

His setup for transporting equipment is fairly typical. The base is a =
pull wire grocery cart. Inside it he sets a white 5-gallon bucket. On =
the back of the cart, three pieces of PVC are mounted as rod holders.=20

I had planned to time Ridder from the lot by the tennis courts, but at 8 =
a.m. it was filled. It's de facto overnight parking for lakefront =
residents.=20

So we parked at the northerly most spots of the east lots.=20

Even from that closer area, Ridder needed 22 minutes to reach the harbor =
mouth. The return trip took 27 minutes. I felt guilty making a =
75-year-old lug gear that far for that long, but it made the point.=20

That's the effect of privatizing the east parking lots at Belmont =
harbor, a lousy idea that should've been killed long before now.=20

Yes, there's a traffic problem Saturday, Sunday and summer holiday =
afternoons. The bottleneck is further complicated by the heavily used =
bike and walking path that crosses immediately after the right turn from =
LSD.=20

But privatizing the lot is like using a sledgehammer to drive a railroad =
spike where a push tack would do. Try using a traffic officer when it's =
busy.=20

I don't think it's an accident that the toll booth was built just in =
time for the Air and Water Show. From nightmare experiences with our =
family, I know what parking there is like during the show.=20

But outside of high-traffic times, the lots are virtually deserted. At 9 =
a.m. Tuesday, only nine of the 69 spaces in the north lot, eight of the =
53 spaces in the middle lot and nine of the 104 in the south lot were in =
use.=20

"I know for one reason or another, they are squeezing the fishermen,'' =
Ridder said.=20

Not just the fishermen, but birders at Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary, =
walkers and those who relax by Belmont harbor.=20

I swear sometimes that Mayor Daley has been in power so long, his =
advisers must sit like a circle of bobbleheads, nodding in unison, "Yes, =
Mr. Mayor. Yes, Mr. Mayor.''=20

A letter-writing campaign has begun. Send notes to Mayor Daley, City =
Hall, 121 N. LaSalle, Chicago, 60602 and Board of Commissioners, Chicago =
Park District, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Chicago, 60611. For the writing =
challenged, form letters will be available at Park Bait at Montrose =
harbor.=20



OUTSIDE LIVES: BIKERIGHT, the campaign to teach and encourage biking, =
has moved its Chicago appearance to the Federal Plaza at 10 a.m.-1 p.m. =
today. Go to www.bikeright.org.

------=_NextPart_000_0059_01C367FD.E4AF8200
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1141" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<H2><FONT size=3D2>From Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times, Outdoor Columnist =
Dale=20
Bowman expands on something Jim Landing mentioned on IBET recently - the =
adverse=20
effects on many (fishermen, birders, other outdoor enthusiasts), that =
the=20
Chicago Park District's plan to privatize parking, especially around =
Lincoln=20
Park/Jarvis Bird Sanctuary would have.</FONT></H2>
<DIV>Alan Anderson, <A=20
href=3D"mailto:casresearch@comcast.net">casresearch@comcast.net</A> , =
Des=20
Plaines.</DIV>
<H2>&nbsp;</H2>
<H2><A =
href=3D"http://www.suntimes.com/output/outdoors/cst-spt-out20.html"><FONT=
=20
size=3D4>http://www.suntimes.com/output/outdoors/cst-spt-out20.html</FONT=
></A></H2>
<H2><FONT size=3D4>Privatizing parking lots will take its toll on =
fishermen=20
</FONT></H2><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica,sans-serif size=3D2>
<P>
<P><I>August 20, 2003</I>=20
<P><B></B>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D4 align=3Dright border=3D0>
  <TBODY>
  <TR>
    <TD></SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P>
<P><!--publication CST --><!--pub_section SPT last modified 8/19/03  =
8:04 PM-->
<P><B>Chuck Ridder</B> paused to catch his breath.=20
<P>There's soon to be more of that for birders, anglers or strollers =
east of=20
Belmont harbor. Either that, or be ready to grab your wallet.=20
<P>The Chicago Park District has privatized the three parking lots to =
the right=20
of the Recreation Drive exit from Lake Shore Drive. The toll booth is =
already=20
built. And, what a shocker, Standard Parking will run it. It's expected =
to be=20
operational within 10 days, said <B>Katherine Gierut</B>, park district=20
spokeswoman. It will be $5.=20
<P>In the middle of the lots, Ridder and I stopped as he remembered his =
first=20
lakefront fishing trip.=20
<P>"I was 14,'' said Ridder, a 75-year-old retiree from Western Springs. =
"We=20
lived at Roosevelt and Keeler. My brother and I took the streetcar to =
the=20
clubhouse at Randolph Street [Columbia Yacht Club]. That must've been =
back in=20
the war [WWII]. We didn't know what we were doing, but we were still =
catching=20
fish [herring].''=20
<P>Ridder knows what he's doing now. He invented a unique method of =
lakefront=20
shore fishing. His "strolling'' technique is bank trolling by walking =
and=20
pulling a No. 5 Shad Rap (smeared red on the breast with a marker) =
behind a=20
leader and a small weight.=20
<P>Tuesday morning, he agreed to do another form of walking.=20
<P>I had collared him at Montrose harbor for an experiment. How long =
would it=20
take a lakefront regular to navigate from the closest free parking by =
the tennis=20
courts to the mouth of Belmont harbor?=20
<P>Ridder unpacked his gear from his white Dodge pickup. That's not =
unusual. He=20
usually puts in 300 days a year fishing on the lakefront.=20
<P>His setup for transporting equipment is fairly typical. The base is a =
pull=20
wire grocery cart. Inside it he sets a white 5-gallon bucket. On the =
back of the=20
cart, three pieces of PVC are mounted as rod holders.=20
<P>I had planned to time Ridder from the lot by the tennis courts, but =
at 8 a.m.=20
it was filled. It's de facto overnight parking for lakefront residents.=20
<P>So we parked at the northerly most spots of the east lots.=20
<P>Even from that closer area, Ridder needed 22 minutes to reach the =
harbor=20
mouth. The return trip took 27 minutes. I felt guilty making a =
75-year-old lug=20
gear that far for that long, but it made the point.=20
<P>That's the effect of privatizing the east parking lots at Belmont =
harbor, a=20
lousy idea that should've been killed long before now.=20
<P>Yes, there's a traffic problem Saturday, Sunday and summer holiday=20
afternoons. The bottleneck is further complicated by the heavily used =
bike and=20
walking path that crosses immediately after the right turn from LSD.=20
<P>But privatizing the lot is like using a sledgehammer to drive a =
railroad=20
spike where a push tack would do. Try using a traffic officer when it's =
busy.=20
<P>I don't think it's an accident that the toll booth was built just in =
time for=20
the Air and Water Show. From nightmare experiences with our family, I =
know what=20
parking there is like during the show.=20
<P>But outside of high-traffic times, the lots are virtually deserted. =
At 9 a.m.=20
Tuesday, only nine of the 69 spaces in the north lot, eight of the 53 =
spaces in=20
the middle lot and nine of the 104 in the south lot were in use.=20
<P>"I know for one reason or another, they are squeezing the =
fishermen,'' Ridder=20
said.=20
<P>Not just the fishermen, but birders at Jarvis Migratory Bird =
Sanctuary,=20
walkers and those who relax by Belmont harbor.=20
<P>I swear sometimes that <B>Mayor Daley</B> has been in power so long, =
his=20
advisers must sit like a circle of bobbleheads, nodding in unison, "Yes, =
Mr.=20
Mayor. Yes, Mr. Mayor.''=20
<P>A letter-writing campaign has begun. Send notes to Mayor Daley, City =
Hall,=20
121 N. LaSalle, Chicago, 60602 and Board of Commissioners, Chicago Park=20
District, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Chicago, 60611. For the writing =
challenged,=20
form letters will be available at Park Bait at Montrose harbor.=20
<P>
<P>
<P><B>OUTSIDE LIVES:</B> BIKERIGHT, the campaign to teach and encourage =
biking,=20
has moved its Chicago appearance to the Federal Plaza at 10 a.m.-1 p.m. =
today.=20
Go to=20
<I><I>www.bikeright.org</I></I>.</P></FONT></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BO=
DY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_0059_01C367FD.E4AF8200--