By Sarah Cormier
C & G Staff Writer

MOUNT CLEMENS — It is something that every downtown area has trouble with — trying to get their parking system to work as efficiently as possible so that people want to return to the area.

And the same is no different for Mount Clemens.

“Parking in every downtown is a constant problem, so pretty much you always have to be fine-tuning the parking,” said Arthur Mullen, executive director of the Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority.

In an effort to make sure parking isn’t an issue for visitors coming to the city’s downtown, the DDA’s Parking Subcommittee has been trying to come up with solutions to problems with the current system. Those ideas were recently brought before the Mount Clemens City Commission during a special work session held on March 1.

According to Dave Gagnon, a DDA member who is on the Parking Subcommittee, the most common complaint from people who come to the downtown are related to parking — mostly that they receive tickets because most of the spots are metered, and it is difficult to time how long they may be in an establishment.

“It’s an unknown; you don’t know how long you’ll be in there,” explained Gagnon.

Another issue is that those visiting Mount Clemens may not be used to having to pay a meter to park.

“I don’t think anyone in Macomb County has a parking meter,” said Mullen.

To try to combat the problems, the subcommittee came up with a list of seven different ways the system could be updated. The biggest potential changes include changing the lots that are further away from the downtown — Town Square, Union Street and Market Street — into free spaces.

The committee also suggested that the city convert the Roskopp parking lots to “VIP parking,” meaning that mechanical arms with an automated payment collection would be installed and a $3 daily fee would be charged. This would stop visitors from receiving tickets from meters that have run out.

“One of our goals is to create a safe haven where there would be a flat fee,” said Mullen. “You’re done for the day; you don’t get a ticket.”

The New Street lot would then be converted to a “pay-per-space” lot, which means frequent visitors could pay a quarterly fee for parking. Other ideas included increasing the meter payment to $1 an hour, as well as raising special events parking fees.

“I think it’s vitally important to provide a system that provides more opportunities for the user,” said Mullen.

All of the ideas are just that — ideas. The City Commission now has to decide what it wants to do with the suggestions. Factors that will play in the decision include making sure that, at the very least, revenue made from the parking system remains the same, if not increases. The city is responsible for paying off a $5 million parking bond payment.

Gagnon said parking issues are considered a main reason why several businesses have left the city’s downtown in recent months. The Parking Subcommittee hopes that some of the concepts would help change that, but they can’t be certain.

“No one’s going to put the monkey on the parking’s back,” he said. “This is no silver bullet.” 

Mullen said that he hopes to see some of the ideas in play this year.

“People don’t think of parking as a system, but it really is, and you want it to function as best as possible,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Cormier at scormier@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1095.