Did someone claim dibs for parking in the summer in Edgewater?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dibs – setting out items to protect parking spaces on city streets – is normally something you'd expect to see in the wintertime in Chicago.
It comes up in the winter when snow piles up – making parking unbearable, and leading some to believe the trouble of digging out a parked car has earned them the right to reserve a space on the street. Some people hate it, while others swear by it.
No matter where you stand, it might come as a shock to see summertime dibs. However, as CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported Thursday night, summertime dibs seemed indeed to be a thing one day on a block in Edgewater.
"Just because they were beach chairs, I said, 'Oh, what is this?'" said Bill Cosper.
Cosper has never witnessed dibs in the summer. He has lived in the Edgewater neighborhood for 30 years.
"You don't really see it that often," he said, "only really in a bad snowstorm kind of thing."
But Cosper recently found himself turning the corner to find what could be next-generation dibs.
"I just pulled out to make a turn, I saw them there, and it just looked so hilarious that I had to take a picture," he said.
Cosper posted to his neighborhood Facebook page – knowing that the block is normally used by people parking and walking to nearby beaches.
"People are like, 'Hey, free furniture!'" Cosper said.
The reactions were fierce, Cosper said, with some saying, "Just because you cleared out once doesn't mean you get to claim it as your space."
We wanted to figure out the reason behind the summertime remix on what is normally a wintertime phenomenon. It turns out the people who blocked off a parking space with beach chairs weren't going to the beach at all.
"They needed to save a space for a moving truck," Cosper said. "They weren't able to reserve a space like you're supposed to do."
The chairs were moved by the end of the day – no harm no foul. It is not unclear if any other chairs will be unfolded as dibs markers before it starts snowing.
"I would never do that myself," Cosper said.