City Begins Clearing 'Dibs' Markers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thanks to this week's warm weather, most of the snow is gone from the streets of Chicago. But that doesn't mean folks aren't still trying to save parking spaces with all kinds of junk.
That why the city is dumping "dibs," CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports.
Digging your car out of several feet of snow is exhausting work. Because of that, most people respect the time-honored tradition of parking dibs –- or, saving a space with some kind of marker once you have cleared it of snow.
"You shovel out your spot, I guess you're entitled to that particular space," driver Rodney Ezell of the Austin neighborhood says.
But now that the snow is gone, many say it's time for the dibs to be gone, too. Still, plenty of folks are milking it.
Still, plenty of folks are milking it. Gus Rickette, 85, who was walking a block to get to his car, says it's not fair that people are still using things to block off spaces for their cars.
"There's two to three cars in every house, so there's not going to be enough parking," he says.
But Rickette and many others say they'd rather not say anything in order to avoid a confrontation.
"I've seen altercations," said Ezell. "Once somebody puts that down there, it's like a rule, that that's your spot."
Others say enough's enough.
"It ain't your (parking space). It's over with. Snow gone. It's melted," Deantwan Newman said as he looked at the debris lining the streets of the 5500 block of West Monroe.
Apparently, the city thinks it's time for things to go back to normal, too. Friday, crews began picking up anything that might have been used to save a spot. Everything from cones to tree limbs to toys, buckets, chairs, and even benches were tossed into the back of trash trucks and crushed.
The Department of Streets and Sanitation says it's picking up the items because they clutter the public way.
