LOGAN SQUARE — Free weekend parking on the boulevards has come to an end.
Chicago Department of Transportation workers removed signs that allowed for free parking along most of Logan, Kedzie and Humboldt boulevards Wednesday.
Former Ald. Rey Colon (35th) had implemented free weekend parking along one lane of the boulevards in 2011, but that issue has been contentious ever since.
Colon's ordinance allowed for free parking between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday, and from 7 p.m to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, those stretches of the boulevards that had occasional free parking became tow zones at all times.
The roadways that were changed include Logan Boulevard between Sacramento and Campbell avenues; Kedzie Boulevard between Linden Place and Belden Avenue; and Humboldt Boulevard between Shakespeare Avenue and Cortland Street.
The practice of free parking on the boulevards dated back to before Colon passed his ordinance in 2011, as patrons of the numerous churches along the boulevards had been parking on the boulevards on Sundays without incident.
Residents of the neighborhood voted on a non-binding referendum to remove the signs two years ago. Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), whose ward now controls much of the boulevards in the neighborhood, said he wanted to wait to remove the signs until the Chicago Department of Transportation was able to study the move.
A CDOT spokeswoman confirmed all the signs were taken down Wednesday, but did not have any further details.
When the move to end free parking was announced, Waguespack said he expected churches would continue to make arrangements for their congregations to park on Sundays.
Armitage Baptist, 2451 N. Kedzie Blvd., already had a system in place with team members wearing yellow vests and setting up cones to help manage parking.
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