Study to Evaluate 1-hour Free Parking for City of Grosse Pointe

A study will be completed this year in the City of Grosse Pointe analayzing whether one-hour of free parking would be feasible and how such an option might be implemented.

The council approved a contract with Carl Walker this week authorizing the study, expected to cost between $16,375 to $19,840, at the request of City Manager Pete Dame.

The request comes as more of the parking in the Village will be converted to gated lots, which Dame stated in a memo to council offers the City more flexibility in considering such an option.

Dame said this week and has said in the past "there is no such thing as free parking." While for the motorist there is not always an immeidate fee, the price is built in somewhere. An example he provided to Patch previously is at a traditional mall where parking is "free" to shoppers. The cost of the parking lot and its maintenance over time is either built into the leases of the stores occupying the mall or in some sort of annual fee charged to the stores for being a part of the larger entity, he said.

In the City, the parking meter and pay lot monies are paid into a parking fund that is used to provide maintenance and upkeep to the parking spaces and lots. At the moment, the parking is self-funded, meaning it does not cost the City any money.

The idea of offering a free hour of parking in lots has been suggested on many ocassions, often with the reference of Birmingham, where two hours are offered free in the off-street lots for those in the downtown business district.

The study will evaluate how the payment structure would need to be adjusted to ensure the "free" hour doesn't equate to the City picking up the parking tab and therefore make parking an expense.

In the study, figures will be used based on numbers gathered on the amount of motorists parking in gated lots, the average length of stay and more. The options to adjust the payment schedule could include increasing the parking fees or assessing business owners.

The study is to be completed in the fall of this year and findings will be shared with council before any decisions are implemented.

The last comprehensive evaluation of parking in the Village was in 2006 when officials were putting in the parking structure behind Kercheval Place. The struture is still being paid for through the parking fund, which is a break-even situation or revenue-neutral.

Money from the parking fund will be used to pay for the study. Council approved the study in a 6-1 vote with councilman Christopher Boettcher opposing it.