Anywhere to park free and walk to Union Station in Chicago

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junebug

junebug

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I should know this, I am a Chicagoan. Our paid parking is through the roof. I am going for a day trip on Amtrak. Anyone know of a place to park for free within a mile of the station?
 
junebug said:
I should know this, I am a Chicagoan. Our paid parking is through the roof. I am going for a day trip on Amtrak. Anyone know of a place to park for free within a mile of the station?
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Do any of the commuter rail stations outside of city proper have free parking and then just take a train into town?
 
I'm not sure what the street parking is like near the outlying L stations, but perhaps you could park on the street near one of those if it's allowed. You may need to look at Google Street View to see if there's signs that don't allow it or have a time limit, but that could be a possibility.
 
You didn't indicate where you lived but using the L as was said, or Metra, is the way to go if there is a Station that has free parking and a convenient schedule that is close to you!
 
I doubt if there is anyplace close to Union Station that would offer free parking. Most Metra parking lots are paid affairs and I would bet that any parking near a CTA station would be covered by parking meters operated by the private firm that runs Chicago on-street parking program. Maybe on Sundays and holidays you could catch a break. The only free on-street parking would be in outlying residential areas which are often restricted to residents or places where you wouldn't want to leave your car.
 
Now, that said, perhaps somewhere along Randolph or Lake, west of Halsted.

Looks like UIC has day rate parking between $11.50 and $13
 
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There are some neighborhoods near the Blue and Brown Lines that don't require parking permits. I used to park near my ex's place by the Orange Line on occasion too. You just have to know the areas and watch for parking signs.

But free parking within a mile of Union Station? Not gonna happen. :p
 
Parking cost in CHI is ridiculous at about $35- $40 for a 24 hr. period. Been to Chicago a number of times and I would try and get to the outskirts or suburbs of the city and take the Metra back in. Just a guess but If you go West on West Adams Street through the Greektown area you might find street parking in the next mile.

With parking around most Amtrak stations tight here, we just park at my in-laws house in So. Jersey for free and then take a $50 cab ride to 30th street station. Cost us $100 round trip but for 12 days of parking it cost about $300 in Philadelphia.
 
NorthShore said:
Looks like UIC has day rate parking between $11.50 and $13
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Parking in the University of Illinois cost about $13, Their parking is a little bit different... you pay upon entry, and they don't tow unless you put your car there for more than a week (may be even more... their enforcement are very lax). I have once tried parked there for 3 days, did not get towed.

From the university, it is just a 5-10 minute bus ride away to Union Station. I highly recommend the two indoor garages, one located on Harrison + Racine, slightly east of the UIC Pavilion, and then another one on Halsted + Polk.
 
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We use SpotHero if we absolutely need to park in the city. We've been able to find spots for $5/day, and some of those are in parking garages that normally charge $15-18/day.
 
And everyone wonders why I use GBB as my departure point? Equal (perhaps even less) drive time than CHI with on street parking in a great little town with a couple of decent eateries in proximity, I know not where your headed but GBB is going to save me about $400 in parking alone on my trip to Yellowstone this summer,, I always look at the route to try and find someplace other than a terminus to depart from,,,,

enjoy your trip
 
(Andersson wrote:

And everyone wonders why I use GBB as my departure point?)

-------

Anderson I had to look up GBB on Google (prefaced by Amtrak)' Galesburg...(not an intuitive abbreviation).

But why did I have to look it up? Please spell abbreviations out.

Chaz
 
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The cost of the METRA ticket is less than the cost of fuel and parking near CUS so find a METRA station with free parking, there are many, especially on the weekends, then take the METRA. Rather than drive into the city for an Amtrak train, I always used METRA, when we lived in the Chicago suburbs. I would arrive either at Ogilvie Trans. Ctr. (NW Station) across the street from METRA's north entrance to CUS, or CUS itself, north or south tracks.
 
You guys are awesome, thanks. I'm going to Mendota. I live in Evanston. It's a half mile walk to Metra. The El to downtown on a Saturday takes at least 1 hour. Driving to Mendota is a little over 2 hours. Driving downtown is 20 minutes. Driving to Glenview is about 30 minutes.

So it sounds like I should just drive to Mendota? Amtrank would be a lot more pleasant than two hours by car, twice in one day.
 
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jebr said:
Why not take Metra from Evanston? It'll be a bit longer than parking downtown, but it's unlikely you'll find any inexpensive parking downtown. It looks like there's an early Metra that should get you to Union Station in time.
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Much quicker than the el, Thanks. Now I know that for future reference.
 
My apologies for your inconvenience. I might suggest acronyms are quite common on these pages. For destination codes I might suggest a perusal of the Amtrak website.
 
Chaz said:
(Andersson wrote:

And everyone wonders why I use GBB as my departure point?)

-------

Anderson I had to look up GBB on Google (prefaced by Amtrak)' Galesburg...(not an intuitive abbreviation).

But why did I have to look it up? Please spell abbreviations out.

Chaz
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I'm not sure why you're complaining when your own post is bordering on unreadable. Most of these abbreviations predated you by a generation or two. Millions of folks before us managed to figure it out and they didn't have Google or Amtrak.com to help them along. Sorry if I sound gruff but I have little patience when people draw attention to their own laziness.
 
In 2012 I took the Empire Builder, opting to begin my travel from Glenview so that I could leave my car parked there for free for the entire week. The ticket agent gave me a ticket to put on the dashboard and directed me to a specific part of the parking lot. Has this courtesy parking perk gone by the wayside?
 
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