During the City Council meeting earlier this month, Park Ridge city leaders reviewed early results from an ongoing parking study, which so far revealed parking challenges and no clear avenue to resolve them.

The study, started in the fall and still underway, is being done by Hoffman Estates-based Walker Consultants. The city is seeking to find ways to improve parking in the Uptown Area. After this section of the city is complete, the company will move to review parking in other areas of Park Ridge.

The bottom line, according to the study’s preliminary findings, is that parking is challenging in parts of the north suburban city, especially on popular days — like the farmers market operating day — and there’s no clear remediating solution yet.

Options the city could consider, however, could be a construction of a parking garage or paid parking in the popular areas in Uptown, according to the consultants.

City leaders made no decisions at the Dec. 1 meeting and aren’t expected to revisit the issue until January.

Andrew Baglini, the parking and mobility consultant for Walker, said since the COVID-19 pandemic, Park Ridge has become a destination for some non-residents. As a result, parking in the Uptown area is getting choked, “throughout the year, but particularly in the summer and warmer months.”

He said on-street parking is limited, especially on major streets of the Uptown area – which includes the area surrounding the public library and south of the train tracks.

Baglini pointed out the tracks act as a barrier for foot traffic, with motorists preferring to park on one side of them for shopping or dining, while the library parking lot, which across the tracks, offers one of the largest public lots in the area.

“South of the tracks we’re approaching capacity already and we’re projecting a parking deficit for … south of the tracks,” he said.

Baglini said one option could be instituting a paid parking area, though he cautioned against that, saying Park Ridge isn’t well suited for that. He suggested instead building up the existing commuter lot on Prairie Avenue, which is already the popular parking spot for farmers market attendees. Or, he said, the city could possibly develop a lot on Euclid Avenue.

But Prairie Avenue, he said, is “a great location.”

Eric Haggett, another consultant with the firm, also suggested getting all parking regulations and rules aligned so time limits and restrictions matched across the city.

Baglini went on to explain that Walker Consultants has interviewed residents, visitors, merchants, restaurant owners and others, both in-person and online. Additionally, the city hosted a public forum in November and still has a survey on its website seeking input.

“We had a huge response rate,” he said.

Among the highlights, Baglini said 52% of traffic comes from visitors, which he said is high for suburbs, and 83% of the visitors come to Park Ridge at least once a week.

City Manager Joe Gilmore said the parking study would be available online for residents to review.

Jesse Wright is a freelancer.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/park-ridge-city-council-parking-study/