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Change is Here: Paid Parking Comes to Clarkston
The following article was published in the March 8, 2018 edition of the Clarkston News. (The original article has been edited to reflect more up-to-date information)
Link to Clarkston News article
Change is here. Our city is now a year-round destination and the increased wear and tear on our infrastructure must be addressed. Somehow we must pay for the associated costs because as we have learned, parking is not free. Someone has to pay for maintenance and upkeep and there is very little funding currently available. This is why we have a new friend in our city: the paid parking kiosk.
The goal of the kiosk is to generate revenue for things such as parking enforcement, maintaining city parking lots and streets, and addressing residential areas impacted by the increased traffic. In the long term, we hope this revenue will also help to create more parking options.
The following is a list of kiosk facts that we’d like to make the public aware of:
- The city-owned Washington and Main Street parking lot will begin paid parking effective April 1st, 2018
- The current permit parking will be removed when paid parking begins
- Drivers will pay for parking at the kiosk located in the southeast corner by entering the vehicle’s license plate number
- The kiosk will accept coins and all major credit cards, as well as interface with the smartphone app PassPort (https://passportinc.com/ )
- The charge will be $1.00 per hour from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 11:00am to 9:00 pm on Saturday.
- Parking will be free on Sundays and major holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas)
- Paid parking will be enforced daily with a $25 fine for unpaid or expired vehicles
- Currently, overnight parking is not permitted in order to facilitate snowplowing and other maintenance. Vehicles left overnight will be subject to towing.
- It is estimated that the kiosk will generate significant new revenue for our infrastructure. This is revenue that was not gathered in the past, but will make things much easier in the future.
- In addition to new revenue, paid parking encourages parking space turnover which should create spaces for other business patrons
- Signage will be added to the lot informing drivers to park their vehicle, make note of their license plate number, and pay for the desired time at the kiosk
- The kiosk is powered by a solar panel with back-up batteries
We understand that paid parking is not the most popular decision. But we have little choice in this new world we live in – one which sees a vibrant downtown that must safely and adequately accommodate the influx of patrons. As stated before, these efforts are not free.
We ask that you remain patient during this change. This short-term pain will help usher in the long-term benefits that our city sorely needs. If you have questions about the kiosk or want to know more about why we are implementing paid parking, please contact the city offices or attend a Parking Committee meeting to voice your questions (meeting dates and times are posted on the city’s website).
Sincerely,
Rick Detkowski
City Council / Parking Committee