ryoung

Hi, are parking garages safe in chicago we plan on parking our truck at the millenium park garage for a couple of nights should I be worried? Otherwise we'll have to pay to park our truck at the hotel which I don't want to do. Thank you very much for any info you can give me!

CAPH52

Are you sure it's going to be cheaper to park at the Millenium Park garage than at the hotel?

ryoung

we are staying at the InterContinental which charges $37 a night and the parking garage is $15.75 as far as I know.

MaxwellSmart

Okay........but there's no such thing as "safe", is there? What is your expectation of safety for parking your vehicle? Are you seeking insulation from crime? As long as you're insured, you're safe, right? What is your goal, besides saving 50 percent of the cost - which is not a bad thing, mind you.

jlm_mi

You're getting the runaround here, not sure why.

Yes, unless you're staying only 1 night at the hotel, the Millenium Park garage will be considerably cheaper than almost any hotel in central Chicago. The reason that for 1 night the hotel may not be much more is that they allow you to park starting when you arrive, even if it's just mid-morning, and you don't have to check out till typically around 5:00 the next day, so easily you could park for 30 hours on one day's cost. The Millenium park garage $15.75 is for 24 hours, and you'd have to pay extra for the remaining time.

In any event, yes, the Millenium Park garage should be safe. No one can guarantee that your car won't be broken into, even in your own driveway at home. But thousands of people park there every day with no trouble. I've used it for a few weekend trips to Chicago this year with no fear for my vehicle at all and will continue to do so for future trips. It's a great resource!

patg

How tall is your truck? Underground garages tend to have low ceilings. I sometimes have trouble parking a van in some of them. You may want to check this out beforehand.

In answer to your question on safety, these garages have exit gates with attendants, and security cameras in the parking area. They are one of your safest options. Be sensible, though; never leave valuables in sight when parking in the city.

JJ5

Be aware that the underground garage at Grant Park does not many kinds of vehicles. We could not park there with a mid size truck for Taste of Chicago. Millenium Park's garage may be similar.
Consider calling to see if your vehicle is allowed.

IMHO the garages are safer than parking in the streets. Be aware of what is around you and stay in group.

ryoung

sorry I shouldn't say truck we have an explorer. I'm not stupid I know there is always a risk parking your car anywhere. I just wanted to know about security (video cameras, parking attendents). So thank you for the info. I'll be parking there for 3 days so using the parking garage instead of the hotel will save us alot of money.

ryoung

I will be with my husband. I don't have to pay daily right, I just pay when I take my car out? sorry if this is a stupid question, but I don't live in a city and have used a parking garage about 3 times in my life.

jlm_mi

Yes, you pay when you take your car out. Unless they've changed it, you first go to the level that has pay machines (there are signs near or in the elevators) and pay, then you take your ticket to a machine when you drive out.

They may also have attendants to pay on the way out, but the pre-pay thing was kind of nifty. Shorter lines at the exit!

JJ5

That's called long term parking and I believe that there are limits on that, but that 3 days is probably fine.

You get a ticket with your day/date/time stamped and pay when leaving. But don't lose your ticket! It happened to us once and it was not fun.

You'll be fine, just be aware and read ALL the sign and parking designations for size, time etc.

scubatv

West loop, west of Wacker, before Halsted, (Greek Town) has cheap parking.

dgruzew

you will be fine parking an explorer in any of the underground garages in Grant park(including milenum) - There is not reson why it would not be SAFE. There are never any garuntees but I have not heard of any problems in these garages and they are used for all kinds of things. It can be spooking down there though if no one is around. I think they have cameras - but not all other the place

Just remeber - if you come on a sunday the grant park garages might get crowded with people going to the bears gamesm, but I doubt they would fill beacuse there is more parking near the stadium