ray363•1d ago

Finally figured out parking on the north side with a city sticker trick

Been in Chicago about 8 months now and the street parking situation was driving me nuts. I kept getting tickets even though I thought I was reading the signs right. Then a neighbor told me about the zone parking exceptions on certain blocks near Devon. Turns out there's a whole map online that shows which streets have alternate side rules on different days. Now I save about $60 a month in tickets just by checking that map before I park. Has anyone else found a specific block or area that has a weird parking rule that saved them?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessica_ross3823h ago

Honestly, that map is a lifesaver! I went through the same thing when I first moved here, got like three tickets in my first month alone. Ngl, I was so close to just giving up on street parking altogether until someone showed me that same map. The weird thing is how one block can have completely different rules than the one right next to it, it's like they're trying to mess with you on purpose. Tbh, I still check that map every time I park even on streets I've used a hundred times because I'm paranoid now. Good on you for figuring it out though, that $60 a month is no joke.

williams.kim20h ago

Hold up, something's not right there. The city sticker thing and the zone parking map are two completely different things. A city sticker is just proof you live in Chicago and paid the fee, it doesn't let you park in zone spots without a permit. That map you're talking about shows which streets have alternate side parking for street cleaning, not zone parking exceptions. Zone parking is a whole separate system where you need a specific permit for your area, usually a different color sticker on your window. If you're just using that map without actually having the right zone permit, you're still gonna get tickets if you park in a zone you're not registered for. Just trying to save you from finding out the hard way like I did when I first moved here.