News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Visitors who come to downtown Alpena and employees who work in downtown businesses often park in private parking lots to gain easy access to area shops and restaurants without having to walk several blocks. Some local business people worry that if paid parking is initiated downtown, more people will use the private lots.

ALPENA — How much will residents and visitors to downtown Alpena have to pay to park — if the Alpena Municipal Council and Alpena Downtown Development Authority install paid parking in areas of downtown?

Thus far, the answer is unclear, but a look at parking fees in other cities in Northern Michigan could provide clues to what local decision makers are thinking.

The DDA is working on a paid parking plan, at the direction of council and both sides have openly discussed what rates in Alpena could be. No timeline is yet established as to when the DDA will forward the plan to the city.

Traverse City and Petoskey have metered parking that costs users $1.50 an hour and $1 an hour respectively, with Traverse City also charging a lower rate of $1.25 an hour for non-premium parking a block or two from the main business corridor.

Parking in downtown Traverse City is free after 6 p.m.

To the north, Sault Ste. Marie charges 50 cents an hour for up to six hours for parking curbside to local businesses, or 25 cents an hour for 10-hour parking in areas on the outskirts of the main shopping and dining areas.

Petoskey also offers 10-hour parking for 25 cents an hour.

Both Traverse City and Petoskey have three-hour parking limits for their most in-demand parking areas.

Jean Derenzy, CEO of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority, said paid parking has been in place since the 1960s, and it is just part of everyday life now. She said occasionally she gets complaints, but added having paid parking ensures vehicles are in and out of parking spots in a reasonable amount of time to allow for other customers to utilize them.

Derenzy said paid parking is a key factor in growth and development in downtowns in many cities. She said as downtown grows, the demand for quality parking grows for customers, as well as employees who work nearby.

She said communities that are having parking issues, likely are drawing more businesses and people to them.

“If you are going to have a commercial district you almost need to have paid parking for the businesses,” she said. “To have a parking problem means you’re starting to grow and thrive.”

Downtown Alpena has been on the rise for several years, and significant growth is expected in the next several years, as several large projects are expected to be finished by then.

The largest projects include the complete renovation of the former State Theater, Royal Knight Theater, and the former Vaughn’s department store, now called The Vaughn.

Those projects — spearheaded by their property owner Jeff Konczak and Northland Area Federal Credit Union — and the possibility of a new hotel being built on the Thunder Bay River, likely means more people working and visiting downtown. Most of which will want nearby parking.

Konczak, who owns a private parking lot for his business, and the Harborside Center near the harbor, said he already has people parking their vehicles on his private property to go to work, or conduct business downtown.

He said he anticipates when his projects are done, parking will be a larger issue than it is now, if no action is taken beforehand.

“The more activity there is downtown the harder it will be to sustain the parking and the ground we have,” Konczak said. “There is a big gap between what we have and what we will need and it will only get worse.”

Gaylord removed its parking meters a little more than a decade ago. Now, local officials are promoting the downtown as a destination and reinstating pay-to-park rules is not in the cards, officials say.

City Manager Kim Awrey said the city is trying to lure people getting off the expressway to head downtown to spend their time and money and there is a fear among the local decision makers that paid parking will derail that effort.

“We feel people are less likely to stop if they have to pay the fee,” Awrey said. “We are working to encourage more traffic downtown and it would be a detriment.”

The council in Alpena and the DDA believe paid parking could alleviate parking issues that stem from business owners, employees, and residents who live downtown utilizing premium parking stalls for long periods of time. It is not the first time parking meters have been considered, but in the past it was met with resistance from business owners and residents and the project never moved forward.

Anne Gentry, the DDA Executive Director in Alpena, said if the paid parking plan moves forward, there would likely be areas where free parking remains.