From the 44th Ward:
This summer, our office has heard many suggestions on ways to improve public safety in the 44th Ward. I am pursuing securing additional police officers for our ward's streets by classifying our area as an entertainment district. At CAPS meetings, we continue to discuss additional proposals, such as installation of emergency call boxes and security cameras.
Earlier this summer, the residents of the 3200 and 3330 blocks of N. Halsted approached our office and 23rd District Police with a proposal to restrict late-night parking on weekends. During the warmer months, residents have witnessed illegal activity taking place both in vehicles and on the street, including public drinking, drug use and excessive noise. The neighbors presented a signed petition to our office requesting a parking ban be put in place to help curb illegal behavior and to provide better sight lines to the sidewalks for our police. While we have heard mixed reactions from the community concerning the effectiveness of this proposal, in the interest of public safety we will begin a pilot program to test a parking ban starting tomorrow, Friday, August 19th.
The parking restrictions will include:
Halsted - Belmont to Buckingham - Both Sides
Belmont - Clark to Halsted - Both Sides
Friday (to Saturday morning) - Saturday (to Sunday morning) - Sunday (to Monday morning)
12:00 Midnight - 5:00am
"No Parking" paper signs will be posted on trees, poles and meter boxes on these streets. Police will continue to patrol Halsted and Belmont, as well as keep a special eye on residential side streets. We welcome your feedback on the effectiveness of this pilot program. Please email your observations to ward44@cityofchicago.org .
Sincerely,
Alderman Tom Tunney
