Royal Oak Parking Meters May Be About to Expire

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Parking meters may be completely eliminated and replaced with pay stations at both the Royal Oak Farmers Market and a downtown city lot at Main and Seventh Streets.

A study focused on the Farmers Market was expanded to include the downtown lot, but the Royal Oak City Commission, mindful of problems neighboring Ferndale experienced, isn’t going to rush the conversion. The study should take about a month to complete, The Daily Tribune reports.

After the dust settled in Ferndale, that city saw a 10 percent revenue boost with the switch to pay stations, which generated about $894,000 the year after they were installed.

As they develop a plan to educate residents about the change, Royal Oak officials plan to talk to their counterparts in Ferndale so they can avoid some of the problems experienced in Ferndale, where 900 downtown meters were replaced with 20 pay stations in 2013.

If the plan is approved by the Royal Oak City Commission, the pay stations will be installed at a 440-space Farmers Market lot at the corner of Third and Troy streets.

Removal of the meters is also a practical matter. Market manager Shelly Mazur said parking areas that are free of obstructions makes it easier for the Market to host large-scale events.

“I don’t know if the trade-off is worth it,” City Commissioner Michael Fournier said.

The solar-powered pay stations would cost about $5,000 each. Department of Public Services Director Greg Rassel estimates it would take about 10 pay stations for the Farmers Market parking lots, which would still offer free parking during Market hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

The 200-space city lot was included because “there’s value in quantity,” Mayor Jim Ellison said. “We may want to make them all the same if we are going to this (pay station) technology.”

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Photo via Shutterstock