Would you buy a permit to park overnight in downtown Lansing? Council to review proposal

Sarah Lehr , Rachel Greco | Lansing State Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Lansing City Councilman explains why he believes city's parking rules should change Lansing City Council member Peter Spadafore explains why he's drafted an ordinance that would create an exception to the city's overnight parking ban.

LANSING — Residents were a no-show at a public forum Saturday aimed at garnering opinions on a proposal that could change downtown parking.

But at-large Lansing City Council member Peter Spadafore said lack of attendance at the meeting, held at the Capital Area District Library's Downtown Lansing branch, could mean the proposal he has drafted simply isn't controversial, but sensible.

The drafted ordinance would create an exception to the city's overnight parking ban. At present, Lansing bans parking on all city streets between 2 and 5 a.m., though that ban is rarely enforced.

The ordinance, still in early stages of the legislative process, would allow residents to purchase permits to park between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. in certain "high-density" zones.

Spadafore said City Council would need to set a cost for the permit, but added that it would likely cost less than a city ramp permit, "and probably more than getting one or two tickets a month."

Under the proposal, overnight permit parking would be allowed on some sections of Townsend Street, South Capitol Avenue, South Washington Square, South Washington Avenue, South Grand Avenue, West Kalamazoo Street, East Kalamazoo Street, West Lenawee Street, East Lenawee Street, West Hillsdale Street and East Hillsdale Street.

For months, City Council has been hearing feedback about the possibility of changing Lansing's prohibition on street parking between 2 to 5 a.m.

Spadafore believes it's time to make a change that will lead to a more vibrant downtown.

"Personally, I feel our approach to parking is outdated and stifles progress, holding us back," he said.

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Promoting a walkable downtown

This year, Lansing beat Hicksville, New York, for the dubious distinction of being the American city with the worst "parking crater." A nonprofit news organization called Streetsblog invited readers to vote for their pick of the city that wastes the most valuable downtown real estate on surface-level parking.

Spadafore said the city's "crater" title prompted him to consider offering changes to the overnight parking ban.

Portions of Lansing's downtown contain too many underutilized parking lots and not enough retail spots, he said.

Spadafore points to a five block radius between Townsend Street and Grand Avenue containing 16 parking lots and one parking ramp.

"You're just not going to walk that," he said.

Brent Forsberg, an Okemos developer and one of three principals for Urban Systems, said that area, heavily populated with parking lots but lacking in retail or living space, is a perfect illustration of why overnight street parking should be considered.

"It takes away from our community that walkable experience," Forsberg said.

Making way for more development and less parking lots could help shape the Urban Systems' plans for the development of the 500 block of South Washington Square, he said.

The company owns the property and is proposing to build a five- to eight-story 170-unit apartment building with retail space on the southwest corner of Washington Square and Lenawee Street. Those plans include outdoor sitting areas, wide sidewalks and balconies.

Adding a parking structure to that development would reduce its size, Forsberg said, and doesn't benefit Lansing's efforts to be vibrant.

Allowing for some overnight parking on city streets will decrease the need for parking lots, Spadafore said.

"It gives downtown residents another option and it also allows us to fill in spaces and create more density," he said. "We're looking to activate parking that we already have so we can avoid replicating more ramps, more structures, more lots throughout the downtown in high density area."

Many of Lansing's downtown surface lots are owned by Michigan and used by state workers.

"The reality is we have a lot of parking that goes unused most of the time, specifically after business hours," Spadafore said.

Lansing's downtown office workers tend to clear out at 5 p.m. and their emptied street parking spaces could instead be used by the people who live in downtown homes and apartments, he said.

Next steps

So far, Spadafore said he hasn't received negative feedback regarding his draft proposal, though some have considered where they would park when heavy snowfall prevents them from using street spaces.

In some zones, provisions would allow for temporary parking in ramps nearby, he said.

There's no deadline for council to a vote on potential changes, but options include lifting the ban or relaxing it in some fashion such as by allowing parking only on one side of the street.

Council members have also suggested keeping the ban but dispatching parking officers to actually enforce it.

Although Spadafore's proposal would limit permits to high-density areas, council members have discussed issuing overnight parking permits to residents citywide.

"We need to think about how to attract people to live downtown," Spadafore said. "It's about maximizing space in a key area that would want to see become more bustling and attract more development."

City Council's public services committee will discuss the proposal during a 4 p.m. meeting at City Hall on Tuesday. Committee meetings are open to the public.

- Read a draft of the proposed ordinance starting on page 45

- Read Spadafore's policy analysis of the proposal

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.

Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.