By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A parking consultant has issued a series of recommendations for the city of Zeeland to consider as it seeks to manage challenges to its parking system.
Rob Bacigalupi of Traverse City-based Mission North, LLC, recently provided a four-page report to the city after meeting with a parking steering committee. The city’s Planning Commission endorsed the findings of the report last Thursday, following similar support from the Shopping Area Redevelopment Board (SARB).
“Following several city-initiated parking changes last year, our team felt it was both responsible and strategic to seek guidance from a professional in the parking industry,” city Marketing Director Abby deRoo wrote in a memo to the Planning Commission. “We were hopeful that, after studying Zeeland’s parking supply, our unique downtown culture, and our previous parking study, a consultant might identify new ideas or uncover something we had missed - perhaps even a ‘smoking gun’ that would alleviate our perceived parking challenges.”
In his report, Bacigalupi gave the city high marks for much of what it is already doing to address parking, saying the city “provides a high level of service to parking customers, businesses, and developers in fulfilling its role as a downtown parking provider.” In addition, he says the north and south parking lots downtown provide “ample parking in easily accessible locations for downtown shoppers and diners.”
Bacigalupi also wrote that the city is “in the enviable position of being able to fund parking facility acquisitions, maintenance, and management without any dedicated funding source,” but whether this is sustainable long-term is not known.
At the same time, though, Bacigalupi noted that city staff are finding it more difficult to maintain the current level of service as new developments pop up downtown, raising “the question of whether the private sector must play a more active role in managing its parking lots.”
Bacigalupi proposed a series of recommendations to the city, broken down into three categories – quick action, midterm action, and longer term.
Among the steps the city can take quickly include prioritizing management and education, improved signage along loading areas of both the north and south municipal lots, as well as increased enforcement to discourage parking in those loading areas, and striping individual parking spaces on-street. One place where individual spaces could be striped is along West Main Avenue west of State Street, which is expected to see increased use when the El Rancho Mexican restaurant inside the 17 E. Main mixed-use development opens, Bacigalupi wrote.
Other possible short-term measures include exploring ways to enhance effectiveness of parking enforcement by Zeeland Police, such as providing ticket-writing software and hardware to track how long people are parked, Bacigalupi wrote.
Among the midterm solutions proposed include exploring a residential permit program. A two-tier system could be looked at, with closer-in spaces for a fee and spaces further out available for free. Residential permit spaces could be offered in the far ends of both the north and south municipal lots, Bacigalupi wrote.
Cost-sharing actions could also be considered. They might include charging for some types of parking, such as for residential permits or parking for construction. Other possibilities might include a parking special assessment or tax increment financing to support parking infrastructure, Bacigalupi wrote.
The often-discussed topic of whether the city should build a parking deck is among the longer-term recommendations in Bacigalupi’s report. He wrote that the city should look into a parking deck feasibility study with the following goals in mind:
• “Consolidate parking to more clearly answer the question from both developers and the public: ‘Where are people going to park?’”
• “Identify a location that will reasonably accommodate the proper-sized facility.”
• “Include an order-of-magnitude cost estimate for the facility’s construction.”
• “Provide sample operational costs from other similar facilities.”
• “Offer recommendations on revenue streams, if needed, to help sustain the garage.”
Another possible long-term item for the city to consider is offering to write up parking violations on private property. The Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe Park has such a measure, Bacigalupi wrote.
The city paid Mission North $1,320 to have the parking report done, deRoo said.
The Mission North report will be reviewed by the parking steering committee, and then presented to the City Council for possible adoption. Community Development Director Tim Maday said he expects the report to be presented to council in about 60 days.
“I would imagine we would begin working toward those quick action (items) shortly after the council were to approve the recommendations,” Maday said.
Zeeland Record
A parking consultant has issued a series of recommendations for the city of Zeeland to consider as it seeks to manage challenges to its parking system.
Rob Bacigalupi of Traverse City-based Mission North, LLC, recently provided a four-page report to the city after meeting with a parking steering committee. The city’s Planning Commission endorsed the findings of the report last Thursday, following similar support from the Shopping Area Redevelopment Board (SARB).
“Following several city-initiated parking changes last year, our team felt it was both responsible and strategic to seek guidance from a professional in the parking industry,” city Marketing Director Abby deRoo wrote in a memo to the Planning Commission. “We were hopeful that, after studying Zeeland’s parking supply, our unique downtown culture, and our previous parking study, a consultant might identify new ideas or uncover something we had missed - perhaps even a ‘smoking gun’ that would alleviate our perceived parking challenges.”
In his report, Bacigalupi gave the city high marks for much of what it is already doing to address parking, saying the city “provides a high level of service to parking customers, businesses, and developers in fulfilling its role as a downtown parking provider.” In addition, he says the north and south parking lots downtown provide “ample parking in easily accessible locations for downtown shoppers and diners.”
Bacigalupi also wrote that the city is “in the enviable position of being able to fund parking facility acquisitions, maintenance, and management without any dedicated funding source,” but whether this is sustainable long-term is not known.
At the same time, though, Bacigalupi noted that city staff are finding it more difficult to maintain the current level of service as new developments pop up downtown, raising “the question of whether the private sector must play a more active role in managing its parking lots.”
Bacigalupi proposed a series of recommendations to the city, broken down into three categories – quick action, midterm action, and longer term.
Among the steps the city can take quickly include prioritizing management and education, improved signage along loading areas of both the north and south municipal lots, as well as increased enforcement to discourage parking in those loading areas, and striping individual parking spaces on-street. One place where individual spaces could be striped is along West Main Avenue west of State Street, which is expected to see increased use when the El Rancho Mexican restaurant inside the 17 E. Main mixed-use development opens, Bacigalupi wrote.
Other possible short-term measures include exploring ways to enhance effectiveness of parking enforcement by Zeeland Police, such as providing ticket-writing software and hardware to track how long people are parked, Bacigalupi wrote.
Among the midterm solutions proposed include exploring a residential permit program. A two-tier system could be looked at, with closer-in spaces for a fee and spaces further out available for free. Residential permit spaces could be offered in the far ends of both the north and south municipal lots, Bacigalupi wrote.
Cost-sharing actions could also be considered. They might include charging for some types of parking, such as for residential permits or parking for construction. Other possibilities might include a parking special assessment or tax increment financing to support parking infrastructure, Bacigalupi wrote.
The often-discussed topic of whether the city should build a parking deck is among the longer-term recommendations in Bacigalupi’s report. He wrote that the city should look into a parking deck feasibility study with the following goals in mind:
• “Consolidate parking to more clearly answer the question from both developers and the public: ‘Where are people going to park?’”
• “Identify a location that will reasonably accommodate the proper-sized facility.”
• “Include an order-of-magnitude cost estimate for the facility’s construction.”
• “Provide sample operational costs from other similar facilities.”
• “Offer recommendations on revenue streams, if needed, to help sustain the garage.”
Another possible long-term item for the city to consider is offering to write up parking violations on private property. The Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe Park has such a measure, Bacigalupi wrote.
The city paid Mission North $1,320 to have the parking report done, deRoo said.
The Mission North report will be reviewed by the parking steering committee, and then presented to the City Council for possible adoption. Community Development Director Tim Maday said he expects the report to be presented to council in about 60 days.
“I would imagine we would begin working toward those quick action (items) shortly after the council were to approve the recommendations,” Maday said.
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