GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids is launching a one-year pilot program that will allow drivers to reserve parking spaces in city-owned ramps ahead of events downtown.
The program comes as the city prepares for a new amphitheater to open soon, adding to demand for convenient parking near major venues.
Under the pilot, drivers would pay a reservation and transaction fee on top of the standard $25 event parking rate near major venues, bringing the total cost to roughly $30. After reserving a spot, drivers would receive a code to show a parking attendant upon arrival.
Max Gilles, Mobile GR strategic iggnitiatives manager, said the current system leaves drivers to figure out parking on the night of an event, which can create stress and lost time.
"Currently we have a system that only allows you to come downtown and identify where you're going to park the night of and that creates anxiety for folks, because they may have to drive around a lot or look for a space and then their waste, or they're spending time that they could be spending with their families or shopping or with their friends, and we just want to make that simpler, if folks are interested," Gilles said.
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For downtown visitors like Jennifer Yates, the current parking situation is familiar.
"My husband usually drives us around, drops us off at the door, goes way out so that he can park for free, because he's super cheap. And then I'm usually frustrated, because I want to just be able to get back to the vehicle after the event. And then we're hiking a while, usually to find our car again," Yates said.
Gilles said the new system is designed to give drivers flexibility, whether they prefer to plan ahead or decide at the last minute.
"I think this helps is just make that whole system a lot simpler. Some folks really want to plan ahead and figure out their spot ahead of time. Some folks like to figure it out last minute. This offers options for both," Gilles said.
Reactions to the roughly $30 total cost were mixed among downtown visitors. Hope Turner said the price seemed fair given how quickly parking fills up near big events.
"That seems pretty reasonable, I think, because it fills up pretty fast, especially with the new amphitheater coming in," Turner said.
Chimere Williams was less convinced.
"I think that's a little excessive, I might be willing to walk for 30 bucks," Williams said.
The city plans to roll out the pilot near the end of April.
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