Imperial Parking

Again, zero stars or less. They can’t seem to be bothered to plow, shovel, throw down some salt, anything.
If anyone falls, let me know. I have the «city manager’s» direct phone number.

Imperial Parking is responsible for, among other things, many of the Metra lots in the suburbs, including those in Elgin, specifically, the Big Timber Road train station.
When they took over on January 1^st, 2007, they raised the daily parking rate from $ 1.00 a day to $ 1.25 a day. At the same time, they got rid of the monthly parking passes, because, «[they] make more on daily parking revenue than [they] do on monthly passes…»
What do Metra commuters get for this overnight 25% increase in ImPark’s revenue? A lot in bad need of repair, some sections of which need to be repainted so badly that you can’t even see the lines on a clear, dry, sunny day.
There are a couple of poles that have been damaged in the last year that they have yet to replace. The poles hold up the steel cables that the little numbered placards that indicate the number of the parking space are strung on. At one point, one of these broke and was left to sit there for the better part of a week.
The payment boxes are strewn about the lot with no rhyme or reason; you park in one row, the payment box could be one row to the left, one row to the right, or in a different area altogether.
There are two spots that don’t even have corresponding slots on ANY board; now that they’ve discontinued monthly passes, your only choice would be to use their new ‘convenience’- pay by phone, which would be great, save for the fact that there is an additional $.35 ‘convenience charge’, on top of the daily parking fee.
To add insult to injury (literally), the contractor that they hired to clear the lots in Elgin has been nothing if not negligent in their duties. On a scale of 1 – 10, I’d give them a –6. When called regarding the ice skating rink they are trying to pass off as a parking lot, they state that action has been taken, that the contractor has been put on notice, and they have 30 days to rectify the situation. 30 days? Are you kidding me? In 30 days, we should be well on our way to consistent above-​freezing temps, meaning the ice (2″ think in some aisles, at least) will be long gone by then.
In the mean time, since they are a Canadian company, I guess they expect us to, in lieu of walking, sit on our asses and push ourselves along, like human curling stones.
Someone may want to give them a lesson in a time-​honored American tradition– the frivolous lawsuit– they may not fully understand the concept of ‘liability’ and how it applies to parking lots and the like here in the U.S.; if they continue to do nothing, they may end up learning a very expensive lesson.