Royal Oak Residents Sign Petition Demanding New Parking System

ROYAL OAK, MI — Frustrated with the city's new parking meter system, a Royal Oak resident created an online petition, demanding the city officials to reconsider the new parking meters.

As of Thursday morning, the petition gained over 2,400 signatures, hoping city officials would remove the new Sentry system and replace it with similar parking systems in neighboring communities, such as Ferndale.

The petition was created by Maryn O’Brien, who works at Lost and Found vintage clothing store downtown in Royal Oak, and said residents are mostly frustrated with the parking system because it requires a driver to back into the space so the meter can read the license plate number.

"Back-in parking on Washington Ave is counterintuitive and ill-communicated," O’Brien said in the petition. "Its inconsistent use and understanding leads to dangerous driving behaviors and increases risk of damage to both personal and city properties."

Another problem concerning residents is the two-hour time limit on some meters with no option for additional time. Since the meters automatically read the license plate number, any vehicle park in the spot for over two hours will get ticketed from officials.

However, Royal Oak Mayor Mike Fournier told WXYZ that residents seeking long-term parking could use the city's parking garages. He also said despite the complaints, back-in parking has proved to be safer.

"If you don’t like reverse angle parking or you don’t like the meters, the good news is we have convenient parking in all our garages," Fournier told the news station.

Royal Oak is not even a year into the new parking system, which the city said it signed a five-year contract with. The petition was expected to come up during the next city commission meeting on May 9.