Parking Fees Going Up at Depot, 30-Day Limit Imposed

Attention, drivers who use the Amtrak depot for long-term parking; the village is working on posting signs there announcing a 30-day limit that goes into effect immediately.

Drivers will also need to be aware that fees are going up June 1; from $4 per day and $55 per month to $5 per day and $60 per month.

Sturtevant trustees discussed the matter at last week's continual committee meeting and voted unanimously to approve the resolution Tuesday at the board meeting.

The issue is that drivers pay as they enter the lot instead of getting a time-stamped card and then paying the appropriate fee as they leave.

"Some drivers from Illinois park their car here and leave it all week," DPW Director Chuck Stachowski said during the committee meeting.

But there are also train passengers who use the depot lot for longer term parking like when they take the train to Milwaukee to go on vacation or even head south for the winter.

To help combat this practice, trustees directed Stachowski to post signs about the new 30-day limit with the warning violators would be towed. Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke said his officers will make it a point to patrol through the lot and take note of cars that are there overnight and for multiple nights in a row.

Parking fees help the village pay for the maintenance of the depot and the grounds, so trustees also talked about how to better collect the funds. New machines that can track and charge for longer term parking have a hefty price tag of $115,000.

"We definitely want to talk about how to get those machines in place because people are just taking advantage," Village President Steve Jansen noted.