GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The city of Grand Haven has asked companies to put in their bid proposals for paid parking. Nothing is official yet, but the city decided to weigh its options.
The city's full request to parking companies is listed below:
Paid Parking RFP 2 by WXMI on Scribd
The city recently amended its initial proposals to allow for a longer window for bids to be collected. Originally, the last date to submit a proposal was February 7. That has been extended to February 24, with findings being presented to city leadership on March 4.
The city's announcement is below:
Paid Parking 6 Feb 24 Addendum 1 by WXMI on Scribd
There are seven areas identified in the Request for Proposals (RFP) that could become home to paid parking. FOX 17 did some quick math to calculate potential earnings from paid parking based on the RFP as written.
The RFP included potential rates. Rates would be $1.50 an hour in May and October. Rates would increase to $2.50 an hour in the summer, from June to September.
The RFP includes a time range where parking would cost money — from 9 a.m.- 9 p.m. That makes a spot worth $30 a day in the summer.
The RFP lists potential spots, which is 1,352 total paid spots. There are 122 days in June, July, August and September.
Some quick multiplication reveals that if all spots were used 100% of the time in the summer months, Grand Haven would be looking at roughly $4,948,320 — nearly five million dollars — in income from parking alone.
Betty Clark, a 45-year resident of Grand Haven, says she can't figure out why the city needs more money.
“I’m assuming that’s why they’re pushing for the paid parking — is to get money,” Clark said.
City of Grand Haven residents, however, won't pay a dime for parking, according to the RFP.
Clark says she worries for her friends in her sailing club that come in from the surrounding townships if they'd have to pay for parking near where they sail out of.
“I’m in the sailing club. Which has, we lease a building from the city right by the city marina and the farmers market by Chinook Pier there,” Clark said.
Right in the middle of potential paid parking.
“Well, when I read [the proposal], it said that it was going to be from the city beach, all the way down including the farmers market and pearls landing,” Clark said.
Nothing is set in stone yet, and Betty says she's open to solutions for parking. But she has lived in Grand Haven long enough to know the city has already tried paid parking in the past.
“They had meters years ago, and it didn’t work,” Clark said.
