Chicago’s $1.2 Billion Parking Meter Problem

In 2009, Chicago traded 75 years of parking meter revenue for a $1.2 billion payment that helped fill an immediate budget hole. Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Tony Jordan, executive director of the Parking Reform Network, and Edward Erfurt, chief technical advisor at Strong Towns, to look at what the city actually gave up and why its recent $3.3 billion bid never made it to the finish line. The lease still shapes decisions about removing parking for bus lanes, bike lanes and wider sidewalks, while the revenue keeps flowing to a private operator instead of back into the places generating it. That leaves Chicago with a much harder question than whether the original deal was bad: what would it take to manage the curb again, regain flexibility and use that money to improve the streets themselves?

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• " Mayor’s $3 Billion Parking Meter Offer Was $800 Million More Than The Next Highest Bid, Investor Says • " by Mick Dumke, Blockclubchicago.org (June 2026)

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

Tony Jordan • (Site)

Edward Erfurt • (LinkedIn)

• Articles mentioned and Downzone:

• ' Why ‘SimCity’ has no parking lots, and other insights from the lead designer • ' (Article)

Simulating the Future: a webinar with Stone Librande • (Video)

A Wailing Of A Town: An Oral History of Early San Pedro Punk And More 1977-1985 • by Craig Ibarra (Book)

Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better • by Jennifer Pahlka (Book)

Sam Walton: Made In America • , by Sam Walton and John Huey (Book)

Microlandia • (Site)

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Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

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