GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids motorists don't have to pay at the majority of the city's 3,000 on-street parking meters after 6 p.m. on weekdays or at all on weekends.

But that could change in 2019.

Grand Rapids' Mobile GR and Parking Services Department is recommending that the city expand its hours of operation for enforcement of on-street, metered parking spots to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The recommendation was among a handful of proposals made by city staff to the Mobile GR Commission earlier this month. Also included was a proposal to initiate an annual parking rate study, much like the process done each year to set water and sewer rates.

Tuesday, Nov. 27, marked the start of a three-week public comment period during which the city is accepting input from residents and community stakeholders on the proposed changes.

Josh Naramore, the city's Mobile GR and parking manager, said the conversation is "very preliminary" and no decisions have been made. Rather, parking services staff is seeking public feedback before presenting its recommendations to the city commission for consideration.

"I don't want people to think we've made up our minds, the discussion is just starting," Naramore said. "We're putting this out there for public consumption and feedback on what they think about it moving forward."

In 2015, the city conducted a parking and mobility study to evaluate parking rates and parking demand as part of GR Forward. In addition to a handful of changes to the city's parking landscape, including upgrading equipment to accept credit card payments and to maintain compliance with security standards, the study recommended "significant increases" to off-street parking rates.

The rate changes were approved by the city commission in 2016 and included in the fiscal year 2017 budget. It was the first rate increase since 2013, and the second in more than 15 years.

Moving forward, the parking services department wants to conduct yearly rate studies to ensure the system is covering costs and managing demand.

Mobile GR doesn't recommend increasing overall parking rates for next year, but does recommend an increase in rates for monthly non-residential reserved parking by $50 per space per month. Those spots are being used by 110 customers, and on average only half of those spots are utilized.

Additionally, staff recommends eliminating the VIP parking program, which is utilized by 382 customers. And it recommends expanding the $49-per-month night and weekend permit program, which lets cardholders access certain parking facilities from 4:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. during weekdays and anytime on weekends.

For on-street parking, the department's recommendation is to expand metered parking enforcement later on weekdays, and to include weekend meter enforcement in order to keep a consistent policy and to encourage turnover.

On-street parking is typically priced at a rate to encourage turnover and discourage long-term parking. But during evenings and on weekends, when the meters don't have to be fed, those spots are often held longer.

Grand Rapids also considered charging for parking at on-street metered spots on weekends in 2014, but decided against it. There are exceptions, like along Monroe Center.

"We want to create consistency," Naramore said. "I don't expect (meter enforcement on) Sundays to go forward, we've gotten the most push-back from that ... But we put it in there as what we think we should aspire to be. A lot of cities have done this."

Naramore said his staff is also looking at more ways to incentivize getting people who plan to be downtown for 3-4 hours to park in parking ramps rather than on the street. That would open up on-street spots for customers visiting shops and restaurants, which would increase turnover.

After the three-week public comment period wraps up next month, the Mobile GR Commission will make adjustments to its recommendations as needed before presenting them to the city commission in January.

The Mobile GR and Parking Services Department can be contacted at 616-456-3290, or by email at mobilegr@grcity.us. The office is located at 50 Ottawa Ave. NW.

The city also has added a spot on its website to read more about the 2018 study and to take a survey.