Downtown Commuter & Public Parking

Downtown Palatine Commuter/Metra & Public Parking Options

Metra's Union Pacific/Northwest Line has a train station, located at 137 W. Wood Street, in Downtown Palatine. The Village of Palatine is responsible for the maintenance and management of the train station, Gateway Center parking garage, and surrounding commuter parking lots. In addition, the Village also maintains a number of public parking lots and spaces throughout the downtown area.

Commuter/Metra Parking Options

Commuter Daily Fee

The Village utilizes multi-space parking meters for processing daily fee parking payments.  The payment machines are located within the parking deck and along the southwest corner of the train station. The machines will accept cash and debit/credit card payments. For those paying cash, the daily parking fee is $2. For those using debit/credit cards, the daily parking fee is $2.20 (with the additional $0.20 offsetting the transaction fees associated with using a credit card). In addition, a pay-by-phone application is also available. For this option, commuters will need to create an account through the Passport Parking application on their phone. The daily fee cost for those utilizing the pay-by-phone application is $2.80 (with the additional $0.80 offsetting fees associated with utilizing the application).

Commuter Parking Permits

The Village utilizes a parking permit portal (website) in which commuters can create an account and then request a permit. If you are interested in additional information regarding the Village of Palatine's commuter parking permit system, see the Commuter Parking Permit page.

Questions about commuter parking permits, permit applications, lots, or general commuter parking questions can be referred to 847-202-6671.

Public Parking Options

In addition to the commuter/Metra parking options outlined above, the Village also maintains several public parking lots and spaces throughout downtown Palatine. (View the Village Downtown Parking Map (PDF).) It should be noted that all spaces within the commuter lots are open to the general public on nights (after 5 p.m.) and weekends.

There are also several on-street parking spaces throughout the downtown area that are available for general public use. Please refer to the posted signage for the applicable restrictions. Within downtown Palatine, which includes the area bound by Palatine Road, Smith Street, Wood Street, and Plum Grove Road, on-street parking for a period of 15 minutes or more is prohibited between the hours of 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Monday through Friday, and between the hours of 3:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• Downtown Palatine Commuter/Metra and Public (PDF) Parking Map
• Metra schedule and fares

2023 Parking Holidays

The following dates are considered parking holidays for 2023: