Negotiations on parking changes in Royal Oak continue

ROYAL OAK — Back in February, the Royal Oak City Commission directed the city administration to continue work with Municipal Parking Services on changes that could be made to the downtown’s parking network.

The city has heard complaints and feedback from residents, business owners and visitors to Royal Oak about the city’s parking system. According to City Manager Paul Brake, many of the complaints revolved around tickets given for violating a five-minute grace period and a two-hour time limit at parking meters.

At its March 13 meeting, the commission gave an update on its parking situation, stating that negotiations with MPS are ongoing.

“We’ve been working urgently and aggressively with MPS,” Mayor Michael Fournier said. “(We’re) really conveying to them the expectations and needs of our city, and I believe we’re at a point now where we have an understanding that the system, as is, is not working and we need to make some significant changes, and both parties agree at this point that those changes are going to be made.”

“Some of those changes are dealing with the city’s ability to have more control over our policies, such as grace periods and the length of parking,” he said. “We do not want to be encumbered by a contract. We want to have the flexibility and ability to make those changes as we see fit.”

No final approvals have been made with MPS on what the changes to the parking system will be, though a grace period increase from five minutes to 15 minutes and an increase to a three-hour time limit has been brought up by the commission before.

Brake told C & G Newspapers that nothing has been decided yet, but those changes are a possibility.

“It’s not a guarantee, but that’s something that we’re actively pursuing right now. We hope that they will be agreeable and that we can implement shortly thereafter, but there’s other details that we need to work out,” he said.

As of March 19, the city did not have anything related to parking on its March 20 City Commission agenda, but Brake stated that actions could be taken during the commission’s executive session that could add items to the agenda.

“This is a really good step in the right direction and it’s incumbent upon MPS and our city staff to get to a point quickly where we can ink an improved deal and ensure that, you know, people have a chance to look at it and make sure that it’s reflecting to the best of our ability the changes we need to avoid these frustrations that are apparent, clear and real,” Fournier said.

A message was left with MPS seeking comment.