Board Changes Rules So Commuters Know When They Land on Free Parking

The Tinley Park Village Board put into law Tuesday a practice that's been common when it comes to regulating the commuter parking lots the village runs near the Oak Park Avenue and 80th Avenue Metra stations.

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Trustees unanimously approved amendments to the village's municipal code at the board's Tuesday, Dec. 4, meeting that makes commuter parking free in certain circumstances. Historically, the village hasn't enforced parking restrictions in these situations.

The amendments would let commuters park without a permit or paying a fee in the following cases:

• after 10:30 a.m. on weekdays
• weekends
• holidays

To park in the station lots, commuters can purchase a permit on a quarterly basis or pay a $1.50 daily fee with cash or special tokens that can be purchased at the Village Clerk's office or at the Tinley Park Police station.

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The holidays that fall under the free parking banner include the 10 days Village Hall is closed:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Presidents Day
• Good Friday
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day (and the day after)
• Christmas Day

Stimulating business, especially along Oak Park Avenue, is much of the reason parking restrictions for the lots aren't enforced during those specified times, trustee David Seaman said during a joint committee in November. 

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