ROYAL OAK, Mich. – After months of criticism from Royal Oak residents, business owners and visitors, the city commission has approved changes to the new parking system in hopes of improving the experience.
The Royal Oak City Commission announced Tuesday, April 11, that the downtown parking meter time limits and grace periods will be extended, effective later this month. The news comes after the city installed a new parking system in 2021 that has since only served as a source of frustration for the community.
The new system, which was reportedly created to decrease parking violations and improve accessibility, has been called confusing and poorly executed for its layout and rigid time restrictions.
One street requires drivers to back into angled parking spaces, while other meters have confused drivers about what spots are available, if they’ve been paid for, and more. The digital meters also limit parking to two hours without an extension option, and cameras on the meter system photograph license plates and issue tickets if that limit is up. Visitors also complained about getting fined for not paying to use the parking space within five minutes of pulling into it -- and those specific tickets averaged around 25,000 a month.
People across the community haven’t been visiting the downtown area as much allegedly due to the parking situation, and small businesses have told Local 4 that they’re seeing a serious decline in customers because of it. Some business owners have even moved out the downtown area. In 2022, thousands of people signed a petition in an effort to get the new parking system removed altogether.
See: Could changes to Downtown Royal Oak’s parking system bring back more visitors?
In response to criticism, the city commissioned a study to determine how to address the situation -- and they found that there is room for improvement. The city commission on Monday, April 10, approved proposed amendments to the city’s Municipal Parking Services agreement, officials announced.
The following changes to the city’s parking system will take effect sometime in April:
- The grace period will be extended from five minutes to 15 minutes for on-street parking;
- Maximum parking time limits will be extended from two hours to three hours for on-street parking; and
- Parking will be free on Juneteenth in addition to all other city holidays.
Officials say they are still having conversations about the reverse-angled parking on Washington Avenue, but they aren’t making any changes to that system right now.
More information about parking in Downtown Royal Oak can be found online here.