As construction continues at the Morton Grove Metra commuter station, village officials announced that for another month, parking will be “significantly limited,” and to help the situation, a municipal lot will be made available.
The decrease in available parking started Aug. 1 and is expected to continue through Oct. 31, village officials announced in an electronic community news calendar. To help the situation, Morton Grove is making another lot, at 8550 Lehigh Avenue, available for commuters. This municipal lot has 105 parking spaces.
“Parking spaces will be made available for public use by permit only for the three-month period at a total cost of $150 per space. Public use of the lot will cease after October 31, 2025,” officials explain in the newsletter.
Construction started last fall on the new Metra commuter rail station in Morton Grove, part of a multi-million dollar project that the mayor expects will provide a more welcoming “gateway” to the north suburb.
Morton Grove is paying for the estimated $2.5 million project with funds from the Lincoln and Lehigh Tax Increment Financing District, Village Administrator Chuck Meyer previously explained.
The Village Board voted in January 2024 to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with Metra to build the new commuter station and reconfigure the parking lot at 8501 Lehigh Ave.
The station is served by Metra’s Milwaukee District North line, which runs between Union Station in downtown Chicago and far north suburban Fox Lake.
Morton Grove officials announced at the onset of the project that parking would be affected throughout construction. The number of parking spaces available in the lot at the station were expected to be reduced from 98 to between 26 and 45 “depending on the phase of the project.”
The ability to access the alternate municipal parking lot is an effort to off-set the reductions, village officials said.
Even with the limited parking spaces at the main lot, officials said the drop-off and pick-up location will remain operational, and accessible parking will remain available.