Downtown Ann Arbor has evolved significantly in the last 20-30 years, and city officials are beginning to think its parking policies should begin evolving, too.
The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is looking at the idea of reforming the downtown's parking policy, which could include extending parking meter hours into the evening. The idea is that when the meter hours were originally set, downtown was primarily a day-time operation. Businesses closed up when it started to get dark. That's not true anymore.
"We have extended the use of our downtown well into the evening," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor DDA.
She adds that a parking meter is much more likely to increase a parking space's availability when it's working. For example, someone meeting in downtown for a business lunch is more likely to find a metered space on the street during the day because of the regulation. However, that's not the case outside parking enforcement hours when people are more likely to "camp" their cars in fareless spots.
"A whole lot of metered parking spaces aren't turning over at night," Pollay says.
As of right now, Ann Arbor's parking meters are in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Parking garages always charge for parking. The DDA is studying whether extending those hours makes sense, or perhaps making parking garage spot prices fluctuate with demand so people parking at peak hours pay more than those who park at non-peak times.
Other Metro Detroit cities have adopted extended parking space hours. Downtown Royal Oak, Birmingham and Dearborn have all extended their parking enforcement well into the evening. Rates are even more expensive in Royal Oak during the weekend evenings.
The Ann Arbor DDA is looking at all of that benchmark information and is preparing a presentation for the Ann Arbor City Council in early April. Right now, the Ann Arbor DDA officials are keeping their options open as it tries to come up with the best solution for everyone.
"What we're hearing is there is no one size fits all," Pollay says.
Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke
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