EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 2025 parking study found that Gaslight Village meets national standards for available parking, but some residents say the data doesn't match their daily experiences.
The study, conducted over three days in March and May, showed peak utilization never exceeded 72% of the 1,310 total parking spaces — well below the 85% threshold where parking is considered strained under industry standards.
"What we've seen from the overall results is that our system is operating within best practices from National Traffic and Parking engineering standards currently," said Doug La Fave, deputy city manager.
Study Reveals Significant Capacity
The highest utilization recorded was 71.68% on March 12 at 1:00 p.m., when 939 vehicles occupied spaces, leaving 371 spots available. On weekends, peak usage dropped to 69.39%.
The 1,310 parking spaces break down into three categories:
- Public and city parking: 726 spaces (55%)
- School parking: 363 spaces (28%)
- Private lots open to public: 221 spaces (17%)
Consistent Public Parking Availability
Public and city parking showed the most consistent availability, never exceeding 66% utilization at any measured time. This includes 417 on-street spaces throughout Gaslight Village and various municipal lots including the Croswell Avenue lot, Waterfront Park, and City Hall/Community Center facilities.
School parking lots reached 80-87% capacity during school hours but dropped dramatically to 33-48% after 3 p.m., representing significant untapped capacity for evening activities.
The study was conducted on three separate days when schools were in session to capture typical usage patterns.
"We're just trying to show what a typical day is here in East Grand Rapids," said La Fave.
Private Lot Usage Patterns
The Shopping Center lot with the D&W , with 213 spaces, showed the highest utilization among private facilities but still maintained capacity even at peak times, reaching 79% on weekdays and 75% on weekends.
La Fave clarified the lot's status: "It is private property that is owned by private owners, and it is intended for their patrons to their stores and their shops. However, it is open to the public, so meaning there's no gate or restriction for that access."
Areas Exceeding Capacity Identified
The study identified several streets where parking demand exceeded legal spaces:
San Lu Rae Drive (15 legal spaces) regularly exceeds 200% capacity during weekdays, peaking at 233% on May 8 when 35 vehicles occupied the area.
Shopping Center Road, with only two designated spaces, reached 950% capacity during weekend events when 19 vehicles parked in the area.
Greenwood Avenue and Lake Drive behind the bleachers also showed regular overcapacity situations.
La Fave explained these overages often result from illegal parking. "If you have other things like, you can't park within a certain distance to an adjacent street, you could very well see where a stretch that otherwise looks wide open like you could park there, you really can't," he said.
Resident Experiences Differ
Despite the data, residents like David Decker say finding parking remains challenging.
"There's still not enough parking for gaslight village visitors," Decker said. "The new deli that opened there in gaslight village two different times, I plan to stop there and grab a sandwich. Couldn't find a parking spot, and then I went home."
Decker said he feels a recent master plan update draft, which references the parking study is "dismissing that as saying parking is really not a problem."
Business Perspective
Andrew Grashuis, a Green Ridge Realty agent who organizes large community events like Wednesdays on Wealthy, disagreed with parking concerns.
"Living here for 23 years and working down here the majority of the time that we've been here, it's never been an issue," Grashuis said.
Grashuis added that after events like Wednesdays on Wealthy and Harvest Fest, which attract large crowds, organizers complete end-of-event roundups.
"We do an end of event round up on what issues there were. And one of the issues we never run into is parking," Grashuis said.
Future Planning
The study serves as baseline data for future development decisions as the city considers new projects. The parking analysis is referenced in the city's master plan update, which the Planning Commission will consider February 10th at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center.
The City Commission would then need to formally adopt the plan.
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