Free Sunday parking in a host of North Side and Northwest Side shopping districts soon would vanish under changes the City Council Transportation Committee endorsed today.

The switch is being delivered by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in response to requests from four aldermen who called for the restoration of paid parking in areas where merchants have said free parking on Sundays makes it tougher for customers to find a space when visiting their stores and restaurants.

“We need that turnover for our businesses because most of them don’t have off-street parking,” said Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, who represents Lakeview, which includes Wrigley Field and its environs.

Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, whose ward is just north of Tunney’s, added that it’s “not just for the businesses, it’s for the church — Lakeview Presbyterian Church.”

The changes come nine months after the City Council approved Emanuel's request to make Sunday parking free outside downtown as part of a larger revision to the much-maligned 75-year parking meter lease done under former Mayor Richard Daley. When those changes were made, several wavering aldermen were told that paid Sunday parking could be restored quickly if that's what they wanted.

If the council approves the new proposal, people once again would have to deal with pay boxes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays along several busy thoroughfares in Lakeview, Logan Square, and the north end of Lincoln Park.

Not included in the mayor's proposal is the heart of Lincoln Park along parts of Fullerton, Lincoln and Armitage avenues and Halsted and Webster streets, where the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce has requested that paid Sundays be restored.



Paid parking also would be restored in the northern portion of Lincoln Park that's in the 32nd Ward at the request of Ald. Scott Waguespack.

Last year, Emanuel said his meter contract changes would save the city $1 billion over the remaining 71 years of the lease. A Tribune analysis found that taxpayers and meter users still could end up paying the parking meter company $517 million in today's dollars for out-of-service meters, excessive use of disabled placards that allow free parking and a new pay-by-cell program that comes with fees.

City officials expect the return of free Sunday parking as proposed to generate about $1 million a year that would be use to offset what the city owes the firm.

hdardick@tribune.com

Twitter @ReporterHal

