Parking Landscape in Village to Change

The parking landscape of the Village will change this year. The question now is just how much of it will be converted. 

The City of Grosse Pointe council gave City Manager Pete Dame permission Monday to explore options to convert a second metered parking lot into a gated lot. Such a conversion would aid shoppers and diners of the Village to enjoy their experience without worrying about expiring meters or not having change, Dame told council.

Those using the gated lot would simply pay for whatever amount of time, much like the parking garage behind Trader Joe's. 

As the and team up to rebuild a community recreation and wellness center on the current location of the Neighborhood Club, the city's parking lot behind it will be converted to a gated lot.

This is slated to happen this year and will coincide with the Neighborhood Club breaking ground, Dame said.

Dame sought to have the other parking lot sandwiched between St. Clair and Notre Dame roads behind , and included in bids the City will review in a few months. 

Ideally, Dame would like to have both lots converted into gated lots this year but at this point he is still waiting for an analysis on how much work is necessary. He told council that if the lots could be stripped and resurfaced, both would likely be completed this year. 

If they need to be dug up and redone extensively, the City won't likely be able to afford it. The work will be paid for out of the parking fund, which is built through meter payments and is a self-sustaining fund. The fund is used to maintain the lots and public streets in the Village and other business areas, Dame said. 

The conversion of both lots would turn the City's three largest parking areas within the Village into non-metered parking, Dame said, noting the concern many of the business owners express about parking tickets and expired meters.

Dame previously told Patch the City issued fewer tickets for expired meters in 2010 than in 2009, explaining the perception that the meter enforcement officers are not out to earn money for the city. 

The officers are trained to travel through each metered area only once a day and to not return for a nearly expired meter, Dame said.