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Comment by mortenjorck | Hacker News Reader

It is, in a word, awful. A perfect example of this is on Chicago Avenue, where the city added dedicated bus lanes… except they aren’t really, because even though you can’t drive in them unless you’re a bus, you can still park in them.

Absolute Kafkaesque urban planning.

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I'm sure there's something in the contract to prevent this, but couldn't they keep the meters and then post a "No Parking" or "Bus Parking Only" or even "Parking from 11:59PM-12:00AM"?

Nice try but the contract has revenue guarantees. The city has to pay whether or not the parking spaces get used.

I mean, if they're allowed to remove the parking (even if the city still has to pay) that means they could get rid of the Kafkaesque bus lane situation, no?

Yeah, they just can’t get out without paying.

The thing about the contract law is that it is adjudicated by humans who are enthusiastic about shooting down BS attempts to wiggle out of binding terms.

Keep the parking, but make the entire street bus only. Good luck getting to that parking spot!

The city would then have to pay out of their pocket for the revenue miss due to not collecting parking on that "entire street bus only". the guaranteed payments are the crux of the matter. (Not that I feel sorry for the city of Chicago or its citizens. Why did they keep electing the same corrupt people over and over again?)

Or put cowcatchers on the busses and drive right on through the bus lane. Sure you can legally park there, and you can get your car legally demolished in a bus collision.

Where are you thinking of? I live in West Town right along Chicago Ave and nobody parks in the bus lanes there.

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