Exactly what is “affordable” parking rates for downtown Lansing? How many parking slots, privately owned or city-owned, are appropriate for our capital city?
I ask because I’m unclear exactly what some people in this city want regarding parking. The mayor is proposing increases in parking permits and fines. To my eye, they don’t seem unreasonable.
Councilwoman Carol Wood says she’s watching the supply of parking and its cost: “They still want affordable parking ... There isn’t enough parking in the private sector to meet the needs of the downtown area.”
I ask because I’m unclear exactly what some people in this city want regarding parking. The mayor is proposing increases in parking permits and fines. To my eye, they don’t seem unreasonable.
Councilwoman Carol Wood says she’s watching the supply of parking and its cost: “They still want affordable parking ... There isn’t enough parking in the private sector to meet the needs of the downtown area.”
The last official parking study I recall said downtown had plenty of parking, though not necessarily as close to visited locations as some might like. Of course, that study would be about 10 years old now.
How many slots are enough? Where should they be? Who should own them?
For a little comparison, I looked at the system in Madison, Wisc. The city of Madison operates eight downtown parking facilities, three surface lots and five garages (ramps to us here in Michigan). Its Buckeye Lot charges $1.25 per hour for a metered slot. Most of its slots have a two-hour limit. Its Capitol Square North Garage charges 80 cents per hour. A monthly permit can run from $116 to $202.
Street meter hourly rates are $1.50 to $1.75 in the downtown area.
As for tickets, the Wisconsin State Journal reported in January that, “The city of Madison plans to increase fines next month for most of the 11 dozen ways motorists can receive a parking ticket. The city issues about 165,000 parking tickets each year, and about 40 percent of those with fines between $20 and $100 would go up an extra $5.”
Does Madison have it right?
It seems to me that parking is a commodity and market demand should have a direct bearing on prices. I’d prefer to see the city reduce its own parking system in favor of having more privately supplied parking.
I suspect I’m in the minority on that score, but I’d like to know what others think is a proper charge for a parking slot, be it on the street or in a ramp.
