Bridgeport man fit to be tied after getting school zone parking ticket next to school where classes are no longer held
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We've pretty much all experienced it - a flash of red when there's a bit of orange on your car from a parking ticket.
The fines especially frustrated a group of Bridgeport residents recently. As CBS 2's Lauren Victory reported, the residents are angrily asking what makes a school qualify as a school.
There are signs that announce no parking being allowed on school days from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. – though they're faded. Those signs warn of a tow zone.
Eric Wozniak could have been towed – but he doesn't feel lucky about having only gotten a $100 ticket instead.
Wozniak admits he parked on the block during school hours. But he thinks the rules – like the signs – are outdated.
The no parking zone for school days is in front of De La Salle Institute's Lourdes Hall, 1040 W. 32nd Pl. The Catholic school moved all its students to its Michigan Avenue campus in Bronzeville, and closed the Lourdes Hall location in 2017.
Wozniak said he has been parking on the block ever since the school shut down.
"When the school was in operation, there were lines of buses here every single day, and we haven't seen that in five years," he said.
The building is not totally shuttered. Religious education classes still take place there, and some sports teams and school clubs use the building too, according to administrators.
"How many facilities in the city host extracurricular activities?" Wozniak said. "That's fine, but like, does that justify having signage outside the school?"
We stopped by the 11th Ward office, and people inside immediately knew what we were talking about. Apparently, Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) has been working on this issue.
She said on June 3, she requested the Chicago Department of Transportation take the signs down. There is no set date as to when that will happen.
But in the meantime, Ald. Lee said she asked the Department of Finance "to stop enforcing school zone citations."
We'll have to update Wozniak, who said earlier: "If I have to worry every single day whether or not I'm going to get ticketed for parking outside a school that doesn't exist, it's a needless frustration."
Ald. Lee says she will look into the ticket Wozniak received. CDOT told CBS 2 the school zone parking signs should be removed by the end of the week.
UPDATE: Less than 24 hours after our story aired, the signs were gone. Wozniak said Lee was also able to get his $100 ticket refunded.
