15-May-15 – No one was disputing that parking in the Loop is bad but a Chicago company did a survey to find out how bad it is. (Left) Sign at Merchandise Mart in 2007.

ParkWhiz says it surveyed more than 500 Chicagoans and 97 percent of them said parking in the city is expensive.

81 percent said they would be more likely to go downtown if parking was less expensive. 60 percent said the hassle of parking has prevented them from attending an event. 59 percent said they have given up getting to a destination because they could not find a place to park.

Parking in the Loop is worse, says the survey, than any other Chicago neighborhood, followed by Lincoln Park and Gold Coast.

“People shouldn’t miss out on going where they want because of high parking,” says ParkWhiz CEO Aashish Dalal (left).

According to ParkWhiz, the average price to park in a garage in Chicago is $21 for one hour and $27 for 12 hours. The company says at any given time there are 130 different rates for parking in Chicago.

 Website: ParkWhiz