Parking Plan Offers Possibility of Growth

Where some might see a simple stretch of pavement, others see potential for community vibrancy: The Village of Morton Grove has announced plans to add 112 more parking spaces on Lehigh Avenue, as village planners hope to bring new life to this historic nexus.

Any type of development in Morton Grove, in fact, is significant. Twenty percent of Morton Grove's land is dedicated to open space, with an abundance of bike trails, play lots and the like -- so it's uncommon that village officials clear the way for more paving.  

"They're working on it now and we, of course, said absolutely to the project," village trustee Larry Gomberg said. "It's a good thing for Morton Grove because it's part of an overall plan; we'd like to put more retail and something other than housing in those spots there."

The Morton Grove Metra Station, at 8501 Lehigh Ave., already accommodates about 400 parking spaces for commuters, allowing easy access to to both Union Station in Chicago to the south, and the Village of Fox Lake in the far northern suburbs. Daily parking at the station runs $1.50 per day, but the new village spaces will work differently.

Village Administrator Joe Wade said that the spaces will cost $800 for one year of permit parking, or about $2.19 per day. (Compare that to the $2.50 an hour it costs to park on most Chicago streets.) "That way, everyone will be guaranteed a space, and won't have to drive up and down Lehigh looking for one," Wade said.

Taken in tandem with a more ambitious plan to refashion the area near the Metra station, it sounds as though village officials are taking steps to inject some vitality into that area of town. Looking to nearby communites such as Des Plaines, Morton Grove leaders see an opportunity to remake the area into one that accommodates the needs of commuters coming and going.

Here's how it would work: The parking represents part of an overall plan to make use of space that once housed four other structures adjacent to the local Moose Lodge. Making those parcels available for development means a chance to attract the kinds of operations commuters crave: coffee shops, restaurants and attractive shopping establishments.

"It's transit-oriented businesses we want there; where people stop in the morning, pick up a cup of coffee, leave their clothes at the dry cleaner," Gomberg said. "It might be something where they get off the train in the evening, and find a place where we can eat."

The big question is: Will anyone buy such plans -- and the land to go with them -- in this shaky economy? To that end Morton Grove officials have reason to be optimistic. 

"After roughly about a year where the phone wasn't ringing, from 2008 to '09, it was pretty scary," Wade said. "But now there's finally activity. People are interested in doing projects, even if they don't have the financing lined up yet."

Credit village leaders with jumping on federal funds as well to spruce up the area. Funds from the American Recovery and Investment Act helped them to repave a key stretch of Lehigh, and minimize the impact on local taxpayers.  
 
So if you live in Morton Grove your money, as Gomberg sees it, could be put to better use right by the train station. "You don't want people getting on the train in the morning and frequenting Chicago establishments, or getting off the train and going home," he said. "We want them spending their money here." 

If all this comes to pass, it may mark a replay of "railroad to the rescue." When the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad laid its single track from Chicago to Milwaukee in 1872, transportation and communication in the town changed overnight. Built a year after the Great Chicago Fire, the rail line ferried goods to the beleaguered city.

"That was an important means of transportation for Chicago, bringing materials back in for rebuilding," said Mary Busch, curator of Morton Grove Park District's Historical Museum.

Then, as now, this key stretch of rail could play host to a rebuilding effort of a different sort. As Gomberg put it: "We're talking, we're doing and hopefully we'll turn that area around."

Spaces should be ready for Morton Grove residents by January 2010. To apply for a permit, call the village finance department at 847-663-3030.