GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- As the city's master plan moves one step closer to reality, one of the big items up for discussion is how to encourage less people to drive and park in and around the downtown area.
Thursday night, planners with Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. held a public forum to discuss the latest draft of the GR Forward master plan for the city, with a large portion of the discussion revolving around making changes to parking.
Simply put, parking is too cheap downtown, according to Scott Page with GR Forward.
“We don’t pay that much to park in downtown and I think it’s one of those things we really do have to address and talk about," he said.
"I think some of the other cities we look at and go ‘wow, they’ve really come a long way’ ... they’ve all learned how to manage parking resources in the most effective way.”
Roughly 20 percent of downtown's real estate is already dedicated to parking, Page said it's a reasonable question to ask if those lots can be better utilized for other developments.
“I think the land values downtown have already increased and when the land values increase you start to think about opportunity for the stuff people would like to see: more retail, housing, development , jobs," he said.
FOX 17 recently reported a study that found Grand Rapids had the lowest vacancy rate for rental properties in the entire nation.
With dwindling housing space, Page said some of the open lots offer redevelopment opportunities, adding that moving parking space further out and away from the downtown core could be a viable solution.
Separate from Thursday night's discussion, the Grand Rapids Parking Commission also recently discussed raising monthly parking rates for drivers in the city.
Page said the goal is to transition downtown Grand Rapids to a "car-lite" environment, creating more walkable streets and opportunities for alternative transportation like biking or longboarding. The city is set to vote on lifting a ban on longboarding before the end of the month.
GR Forward plans to have final draft of the master plan completed and ready to submit to the city commission by the beginning of summer.
