Monday, March 25, 2013
From now through May 1, enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It's time to start paying for parking again in Ferndale as the city's free parking holiday ends Monday, March 25. On March 11, Ferndale City Council voted to return parking rates to 50 cents an hour and extend free parking. City officials used the time to install 12 new pay stations in the most active downtown parking lots as part of an effort to improve the new system before it re-launched. From now through May 1, parking enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to give the city time to install new solar-powered lighting around the pay stations. After that, enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Earlier this year, the city replaced 900 parking lot quarter meters with 20 new pay stations that accept coins, cash and credit card …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
City prepares to re-launch new parking system March 25.
The city of Ferndale recently installed 12 new pay stations in the most active downtown parking lots as part of an effort to improve the new parking system before it re-launches on March 25. The additional machines aim to reduce long lines at the pay stations. "Additional pay station locations were selected by observed pedestrian traffic patterns, the number of transactions per machine at their original locations, the location of existing pay stations, ADA accessibility, available lighting and user comments," Loyd Cureton, director of the Ferndale Department of Public Works, said in a press release. Two extra units are being kept in reserve to allow city staff a small inventory to replace faulty machines or add a machine if needed, …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Parking holiday continues through Monday, March 25.
Free parking continues this week in Ferndale as the city continues to make improvements to the new parking system. Ferndale City Council voted Monday, March 11 to return parking rates to 50 cents an hour, temporarily decrease enforcement hours and extend free parking through Monday, March 25. Parking is free for on-street parking and in all lots. From March 25 to May 1, parking enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to give the city time to install new solar-powered lighting around the pay stations. After that, enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Find more information here.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Parking rates will return to 50 cents per hour.
Ferndale City Council voted Monday night to return parking rates to 50 cents an hour, temporarily decrease enforcement hours and extend free parking through Monday, March 25. New parking rates were previously implemented in late January in conjunction with the rollout of the new parking pay stations, with rates up to $1 per hour for on-street parking. "After talking to business owners and residents I think we need to take a step back and re-evaluate the revenues, what we're going to use the revenues for, what does the community value and what we want to invest in," Ferndale Mayor Pro Tem Melanie Piana said during the meeting. The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority announced last week that it would recommend to council a rollback of …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
DDA board members say a full consensus is needed on the goal of increasing parking spaces before the public should be burdened with increased prices.
The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority announced Thursday that it will urge Ferndale City Council next week to roll back increased parking rates and expanded hours of enforcement. The DDA will present its recommendation at council’s Monday, March 11 meeting. Ferndale implemented new pay stations and parking rates in late January, and since then some residents have expressed frustrations about using the new system. On Feb. 28, council members voted to order 12 more pay stations and extend a free parking holiday through March 11 while the city works to address problems with the system. “We continue to stand by our Parking System Priority Resolution, which only supports a rate increase in tandem with the stated goal to increase capacity …
Monday, February 25, 2013
City Council approved an extension of free parking through March 11.
Parking will be free in downtown Ferndale for two more weeks while the city works to improve the new parking system. Ferndale City Council on Monday night approved the extension of free parking through March 11 and approved the purchase of 12 additional parking pay stations. City management recommended the extra pay stations after using data from the new system to study a seven-day period of usage. During that time, the pay stations had 15,000 transactions - 50 percent coming from the Troy and Withington parking lots. "That right there lets you know that clearly we have an issue with the amount of pay stations that we have in those two lots in particular," said Ferndale City Manager April Lynch, pointing out that a quarter of the machines …
Friday, February 22, 2013
Cty staff will use the weekend as an opportunity to review the data generated by the new pay stations.
The city of Ferndale announced Friday that free parking will be available in all parking lots and on-street spaces through Monday, Feb. 25. "The bottom line is that we need to provide the best product to our customers," Ferndale City Manager April Lynch said in a press release. "We have heard their concerns and our committed to making sure these machines meet their needs." Cty staff will use the weekend as an opportunity to review the data that has been generated by the new pay stations. “These machines are able to provide us with a lot of information that was not previously available from the old mechanical meters," Loyd Cureton, director of the Ferndale Department of Public Works said in the release. "We can now have a better …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Parking is free all day as part of the DDA's Third Thursday initiative.
Parking is free today in downtown Ferndale as part of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority's Third Thursday initiative. Parking will be free all day on Thursday, Feb. 21 and people are encouraged to shop, dine and enjoy all that the city has to offer. For more information on Third Thursdays, visit www.downtownferndale.com or call the DDA at 248-546-1632. See here for information on the city's new parking system.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Mayor says parking rates are worth revisiting.
Ferndale city officials are responding to a growing wave of negative feedback after new parking rates and pay stations were implemented beginning late last month. City officials say feedback is being received at City Hall, the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority and on the Ferndale Park Plus web site. Residents have also been sharing their views on Patch, and a "Lower Ferndale's Parking Rates" Facebook group started last week that now has more than 450 "likes." "We knew that there was going to be some roll-out issues but frankly it's been more than we anticipated," Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter said on Thursday. "Our staff is working very hard to address everybody's concerns." The mayor also submitted this letter to the editor on Sunday…
Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter submitted this letter to the editor.
- OPINION
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Monday, February 18
Ferndale Patch welcomes letters to the editor. The following was submitted by Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter. _______________________ Friends & Neighbors, Please know that we at the city have heard your comments, complaints and suggestions (and yes, compliments) on the new parking sytem. I value your input and respect how frustrating this has been for many of us. We knew when the DDA proposed the system it would require an adjustment period, but frankly the amount of issues has been surprising. Please also know that: 1) we're committed to getting this right, and we will evaluate all aspects of the system - mechanical, safety, and rates - to make sure we do; 2) we didn't approve this system to be like Birmingham, or anybody else (I'm proud to …
Mr. Michael
10:47 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013
When adding up all the costs of this ridiculous implementation don't forget to add 1 month of missed parking revenue the city missed out on. A perfect example of how NOT do do something. more ›