Naperville is rethinking its commuter parking strategies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has altered where and how people work.
Naperville’s commuter lots near Metra stations are like ghost towns, much in part to people like Ali Kazmi who’s been working remotely from home the last nine months.
The last time he made the 65-minute door-to-door commute from his home to his office in Chicago was mid-March.
Kazmi said the latest he’s heard was that he and his coworkers might return to the office possibly on a staggered schedule and sometime in early summer. But he said nothing is definite.
When the time comes to commute again, Kazmi, who parks at the Route 59 lot to take Metra train into Chicago, said he will continue to use daily parking until he knows for sure he’ll be working downtown Chicago five days a week.
Kazmi said it’s just not cost-effective to pay for a longer-term parking pass in the foreseeable future, and he’s not alone in his thinking.
Parking permits in Naperville are down nearly 500 since the pandemic started.
City statistics show the number of active permits fell from 2,492 in February to 1,998 eight months later.
To minimize the need to plow and salt empty lots this winter, Naperville closed Metra commuter parking until early April at the Route 59 Station lot west of Fairway Drive and the Kroehler permit lot and Water Tower West lot near the Naperville station on Fourth Avenue.
The city conducted a survey in the fall to gather data on commuting habits and gauge when people expect to return to work. The information will be used as the city reevaluates the Commuter Parking and Access Work Plan instituted in 2019.
The survey was emailed to parking permit holders and commuters on the waitlist. In addition, links to the survey were included in the city’s Commuter Connection email newsletter and posted to city social media sites.
In all, the city said it received 2,172 responses, roughly 22% of Metra riders pre-pandemic.
A survey shows 81% of respondents are not commuting, but 75% indicated they expect to return to their “pre-pandemic schedule for commuting by Metra” by the end of 2021.
One in five said they don’t know when they might return to previous commuting patterns.
The more pressing question for city officials will be how often residents will use Metra beyond 2021, as 78% of survey respondents said the ability to work remotely would influence their commuting pattern in the future.
The survey shows 1,642 respondents, or 76%, said they commuted on Metra four or more days per week before the pandemic. But 37%, or 797, said they expect to continue commuting four or more days when life gets back to normal.
About 45% said they expected to head to work one to three days per week, and another 11% said they would only use Metra for commuting a few days per month.
Shifts in commuting patterns reflect a growing trend in the business world toward working remotely.
A report from the National Safety Council released Dec. 9 shows employers are realizing their organizations are working effectively in a remote setting.
“The way in which people, organizations and industries work has forever changed. This crisis has uncovered an innovative new way of working, while laying bare many challenges that have jeopardized the safety of our workforce,” said Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of the National Safety Council in a press release.
While the report focuses on workplace improvements in safety and health stemming from the pandemic, it also gives a glimpse into the thinking of business leaders.
The report said companies where business is conducted in an office setting are considering reducing that office space, not renewing leases, or selling property.
Those choosing to retain physical office space, the report says, are looking into a reservation or hoteling approach whereby employees reserve desk space when they need it rather than having dedicated offices or cubicles.
“I think many organizations have found a really good degree of productivity and an ability to do that work remotely,” said John Dony, senior director of thought leadership at the National Safety Council and manager for the SAFER effort that produced the report.
Dony said the more agile organizations, like tech companies for instance, are never going to mandate a return to the office. “But most employers haven’t gone quite that far,” Dony said.
Dony said a flexible work arrangement that seems to be emerging as a baseline is where employees are working from home three days a week and in the office two days per week.
When people do return to a regular commute, Naperville’s parking survey showed 69% of responders would like the city to consider other payment options beyond quarterly and daily fees.
Suggestions include 10-day or monthly parking passes.
Quarterly fees for parking permits for residents are $110 or $120 depending on the lot location. For nonresident the cost is between $120 and $145.
Daily spaces cost $2 per day, except for the daily spaces at the DuPage Children’s Museum and 190 E. Fifth Ave. where the cost is $5 per day.
An executive order was issued in July cutting quarterly commuter parking permit fees in half for the fourth quarter, Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, to provide financial relief to commuters who have not been using their permits due to the pandemic.
Survey participants were given the opportunity to offer the city suggestions for improving the parking system.
Two of the most common responses related to long waitlists and the need for additional parking spaces.
Many commuters said they paid their quarterly fees so they won’t lose their parking spot, even though they’re working from home.
Others said too many parking spots in the permit-only lots went unused pre-COVID and urged the city to investigate a means to fully use all the available parking.
The uncertainty of the pandemic also put a hold on projects like the Fifth Avenue Development, specifically long-term commuter parking needs.
subaker@tribpub.com
