Parking Garages in GE?

This just makes me shake my head. Pace got rid of all the commuter buses, so now the govt is willing to look at parking garages??

I don't get it.

I've only lived here about 8 years -but do take the train daily. And every day I've wondered why in the world we don't have parking decks. Elmhurst has, what three of them plus a fair amount of street/lot parking? Not to mention my much missed underpass.

I don't really see the connection about the Pace buses, unless it's the idea that government should support mass transportation far more than they do. I wouldn't mind taking a bus to the station, but I never found one that offered enough flexibility for either early or late hours, and, I admit, I like to make a stop at Trader Joe, etc., on the way home, rather than get home and then get the car out.

Given the condition of quite a few of the buildings in the CBD, I wouldn't be heartbroken to see something torn down to make way for a deck.

To serve what purpose? And to service what booming businesses? There is plenty of available parking along Crescent west of Main near Mc. & M, In the muni lots on Main near Santa Fe and behind the fire station, side streets. There are spaces readily available generally within two blocks of your destination pretty much 24/7. Especially on the weekends. But we don't want to walk, do we? Of course not. Dirty little secret . . . any parking deck that anyone builds will be . . . get this . . . two blocks or so from your destination. And decks cost about $35,000 per spot. 300 spot deck . . . a paltry $10.5MM construction cost. That does not include the cost of land acquisition. So long as you live in a community that wants to snuggle up to it's horse and buggy, crumbling past . . . no retail will be here. Ergo, no need for a parking deck.

Elmhurst has both a large population of commuters needing space and a booming, vibrant downtown that can and does justify their three decks. We need not have deck envy as we have nothing but craptastic restaurants and mom and pop retailers. Though I must say that the new cooking store looks out-of-this-world fantastic.

Take the money, wait for the steadfast folks who want nothing to change to be committed, then you can take the deck money and forcible buy icky properties and start over. In homage to the preservationists, we can make the buildings look old. But they will be leasable! Imagine that.

You're welcome, GE. Just saved you a big bunch of dollars.

Remember about 20-30 years ago when Elmhurst was worried about its downtown area? Lack of businesses, run down movie theater, etc etc. Wonder why they bothered building the parking decks. (yep, I lived near the library in Elmhurst - remember all the decks being built).

Also, what's the wait time on the GE commuter parking lot passes these days? Six years or so, IIRC.

That's actually where I would concentrate parking - to make it easier for commuters. People do still buy homes based on how easy their commute is - convenient train station parking is still a good draw, I think.

Honestly, I'm not really all that concerned about the CBD, at least until retailers there figure out that you have to stay open at least two nights a week - I get all my shopping done on Roosevelt Road and Danada. As I mentioned, there aren't a lot of buildings in the CBD for which I have much attachment - unless they were massively renovated.

Truthfully, if the Village wants to spend money upgrading a shopping district, I would venture it'd be better spent on the Roosevelt Road corridor - at least there's a shot of getting a return on the investment.

Hey , Wheaton has a deck, doesn't it?

You have deck envy!

Glen Ellyn's CBD is landlocked. Can never expand in either direction . . . maybe on C. George's ill-fated row house space. Unless we are truly serious about replicating the likes of LaGrange, Naperville or Elmhurst in the CBD (and you will get a big fight from the octogenarians at the preservation place), there is no need to plop that thing anywhere in the CBD. Would be our version of the Gravina Island Bridge . . . the bridge to nowhere.

BTW, in order to implement anything on the hippo company's grand plan, we need money. Despite having a reputation of being a wealthy community . . . Glen Ellyn is broke.

I do have deck envy - I miss being able to retrieve my car with blissfully clear windshields after or during a snowstorm, and not slip-sliding out of a parking lot.

Oh, well, GE does have other virtues - including that nice Trader Joe. I had TJ envy when I lived in Elmhurst.

What's with everyone being in love with TJ? Don't get me wrong, I go there . . . but what have they got inside that no other store has . . . except seriously miserable meat? It certainly isn't their produce. Absolutely nothing special there. I am mentally strolling the aisles and nothing truly unique is coming to mind. It certainly isn't the prices. Maybe the frozen brown rice? Or is it the peanut butter stuffed pretzels? Tell me!!!

I do like the cinnamon pita chips. That's worth the trip.

Is it the monkey?

So if I remember my stats correctly, Glen Ellyn has a daily passenger use of about 800 folks a day. I know that Lombard is over 1300 hundred a day. Elmhurst I believe is the largest stop. I would hardly consider us a crowded stop or line.

Naperville runs over 3000 boardings a day and so does RT 59. Neither one of those stops has garages for the commuters. I commuted from Naperville, it was like going to a rock concert every day. When I moved to Glen Ellyn, I could not believe we got so many express trains. We are so not crowded.

I for one am not a fan of garages from a safety perspective. And while you may never use the bus, they came in handy. When I moved here 6 years ago I waited all of 6 months for a pass. Now that the Pace buses are gone, its a 6 plus year wait. Its not like a flood of people moved to Glen Ellyn.

Although on the other hand, if a parking garage was built, which business would be torn down for it? Would we get lights?

Now, I've been told GE averages around 2000 passengers a day (hence the number of stops). Back when Lombard was building some condos near their station, I asked a conductor why Lombard had relatively fewer rush hour stops than GE - he said since the parking in Lombard is relatively paltry, fewer people board there, thus fewer stops (yes, pretty chicken and egg, I thought). As a daily downtown commuter, I had considered most of the towns with stops along the UP West, and certainly GE had an advantage with the number of stops.

I moved here about 8 years ago (wow, time flies); I applied for a spot the moment I closed on my condo - waited six months to get into the lot west of Park (happily they enlarged that lot a bit right around then), then seven years to get into the train parking lots.

Given the lengthy waiting list, I don't think most commuters would object to expanding the parking situation - and looking at most of the buildings/businesses in the CBD, the only question is which one to knock down first! Certainly it appears most of the CBD landlords aren't big on maintaining/improving their rental stock.

And, thinking Pace wasn't drawing the number of riders they needed - probably due to the lack of convenience for many workers - that certainly was my issue, but I work for a professional services firm and we have relatively wacky hours, early and late. When I first moved here, I really thought I'd be able to take the bus - til I looked at the schedules more closely.

I am a firm proponent of mass transportation, and wish there was more support for it - but Pace has never been able, it seems, to work out a perfect formula for convenience and cost. Heck, I took the CTA for over 25 years in the City - it's not like I can't share a ride.

And, as I've noted many times, since I work downtown daily, the CBD offers me very few opportunities to drop a few dollars - other than the show (which I still would love to see replaced by Classic Cinemas), the restaurants, and Starbucks, what the heck is ever open there on a regular basis after, oh, 5:30 pm? Even the hardware store is locked up tight as a drum - I'm sure the Ace on Roosevelt gets a lot of post 6:00 pm business.

This is an old argument - as far as shopping goes, the CBD can't hold a candle to Danada and Roosevelt Road as far as convenience goes, which is a darn shame.

Re TJ - I do like their staff, and their prices beat Whole Foods for the veggies I buy regularly - and it's right on my way home! But I'm looking forward to that new grocery store opening in Wheaton next spring.

quote:

Maybe the frozen brown rice? Or is it the peanut butter stuffed pretzels? Tell me!!!

2 buck chuck?

So the last 'official' count in 2006 had ge dwindling down to around 1500 a day. But I saw a recent Metra newsletter where it was less. But lets face it,its never crowded on the platform. Unless of course, there is 'late arrival of equipment'.

I don't think the GE commuter waiting list is anywhere close to 6 years, but certainly it's more than a year. It does seem to me that some additional commuter parking is justified; especially when school is in session and GBW students fill the Park/Montclaire lot.

The definitive Trader Joe's explanation here (YouTube vid).

That is an exceptional video. And the "moms" were exceptional, also.

I guess someone could call the Village and just ask what the wait time is for a GE resident - I do think it's about 6 years for the train lots (of course, some people just keep paying for those particular lots, whether they take the train on a regular basis or not).

The news story did indicate Metra was part of the push for additional parking in GE. Thinking they probably have some reason for becoming part of the push. I suspect if additional, convenient, parking were available, we'd see more people taking the train on a regular basis - although we'll have to see how the fare increase affects ridership. Yes, it's sad but true - people just don't like parking blocks and blocks away to catch a train. Same as many people don't like the inconvenience of commuter bus schedules.

Southge, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on heavy loading a station GE is, and how crowded the trains becomes once GE ridership pops on. Sure, it's no Elmhurst or Naperville - but it's not exactly Hooterville either - hence the number of stops we are assigned vis a vis other towns on the line.

BTW, I thought they were building 'condo parking garages' in either Naperville or Aurora - at least it was contemplated a year or so ago.

And what is with all those high schoolers parking in Park/Montclair and other commuter lots - can't they take the bus or have parents drop them off - or can't the school build its own deck if they need it (north of the tracks, perhaps, for safety reasons) - you know, take part of the lights money for something useful?

Memorial Field could once again be called Memorial Park! A lit parking deck would ensure students could spend less time looking for a parking spot.

Speaking of parking-when did the commuter lots off of Park become parking for "Football Parking Only?" I noticed the signs on Saturday. Needless to say, even though that was sanctioned for football parking, the streets by Memorial Field were still crazy with all the parking there as well.

Well . . . beautiful fall day for a football game against a snobby rival. Everyone was there. Glen Ellyn Place was jammed to capacity. Nothing like Saturday afternoon football.

"Everyone was there"

Even the longboard hooligans on your street!

As of July the wait list for parking was between 18-24 months. Village Weekly Q&A July 20th

Thanks for that - but it doesn't really say which lots. I got into Park/Montclair fairly quickly about 8 years ago - but I waited 7 years to move up to the 'train' lots.