News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Rows of cars fill the parking lot at Culligan Plaza on Wednesday. The Alpena Downtown Development Authority is currently working on a plan that could lead to paid parking downtown.

ALPENA — The Alpena Downtown Development Authority is putting a plan together that could lead to parking meters installed throughout downtown.

The Alpena Municipal Council instructed the DDA late last year to formulate a plan on how to implement paid parking downtown.

Anne Gentry, executive director of the DDA, said that should happen early in 2023.

Gentry said the parking plan is not finalized, but the DDA has received price quotes of between $150,000 and $200,000 for new meters and their installation.

She said many details still need to be worked out, such as what types of meters fit the need, where they go, how they will be paid for, and how much people will have to pay to use a high-demand sparking space.

Gentry said the parking meters could be installed curbside and in city parking lots along Chisholm Street, from 1st Avenue to 3rd Avenue, along 2nd Avenue, from Chisholm Street to the river, and along the side streets and in lots between those areas.

“We’re considering the main downtown core, where there is the highest usage, so there are like 260 spaces in total that could be metered,” Gentry said. “That still leaves more than 600 spaces that are public throughout the district that would be free.”

The DDA is considering programming the meters to reflect time limitations in place today. Gentry said places capped at two hours currently would remain that way, even if a customer uses a meter. She said the meters can also be programmed to allow free parking during non-peak hours of the day and during certain events downtown, but, right now, those options are still being discussed.

The city had paid parking downtown decades ago, but it was stopped in the late 1970s or early 1980s to help businesses compete with big-box stores and malls that were beginning to open in the area.

Now, however, the DDA and city say parking is becoming an issue, especially in high-demand areas.

Gentry said one of the issues is that business owners, employees, and downtown residents often take storefront parking, which forces customers to park farther away.

She said parking meters may help level the playing field.

Gentry said the DDA and city are trying to be proactive, because future development downtown will likely make parking more difficult.

Gentry said having paid parking will help prepare for the future and it could also lead the way to a new parking structure downtown.

“We are going to have huge parking demands downtown, so we would love to get to the point where we could invest or have an investor build a parking garage,” she said. “This is a logical step, because you can’t have a garage without having paid parking first.”

Also in question is how the DDA would utilize the revenue from the parking meters.

Gentry said a portion of it may be needed to hire help to enforce the paid parking, and some money could be used to repair and maintain existing parking lots.

Some of the revenue could also be used to pay off a loan if the city and DDA choose to finance the project that way, Gentry said.