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Tag Chicago

Privatize Midway Airport

If Chicago’s Midway Airport is privatized, I’ll be looking forward to flying in there. (And it won’t just be to satisfy cravings of Italian beef sandwiches and hot dogs at the food court.) It’s success may depend on the how much (or hopefully how little) the city regulates the airport’s contracts and operations as well as how much wasteful patronage will be eliminated by the private operator. From Reason.org‘s Out of Control Blog: Leasing Chicago’s Midway Airport If there was any question whether investors would be interested in a long-term lease of Chicago’s Midway Airport, it was answered in the affirmative at the beginning of April. If Midway does generate significant value for the city, the lease could be as precedent-setting as the city’s January 2005 lease of the Chicago Skyway. That transaction focused global attention on the United States as a new market for privatization of toll roads. But for the same thing to be possible in the airport sector would require Congress to amend the Airport Privatization Pilot Program legislation it enacted in 1996 . If it is as successful as the Skyway lease, it could usher in a wave of privatization of airports and highways across the US as governments try to shore up their budgets.

Markets for Parking

Matthew Yglesias: Parking How much will they pay? Well, it’s hard to know in advance which is why you need markets. But that’s what you should have — as much parking as the market will bear. Not government-mandated parking, and not government-provided free or discount parking. Let people build garages and if it’s more economical to provide less parking, let there be less parking. SFGate: SFpark would micromanage city’s scarce spaces As SFpark is envisioned, parking rates would be adjusted based on time of day, day of week and duration of stay. People would be able to pay not just with coins, but with credit cards, prepaid debit cards and even by cell phone. If a meter is set to expire, a text message could be sent to the driver. More time could be purchased remotely. It’s a step in the market direction for public parking spaces, but why not privatize all those spots? chicagobusiness.com: City links CTA improvements, higher parking fees While proceeding with these plans, the city also is privatizing operation of its thousands of parking meters. That could provide the city with a substantial cash infusion.

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