An enforcement problem convinced Lake Orion Village Council members on May 27 that establishing several 15-minute parking spaces downtown wouldn’t be a good idea.
According to LO Police Chief Jerry Narsh, currently an ordinance officer marks tires to enforce the two hour parking ordinance, does other duties, then returns to monitor the marked vehicles for violations.
‘It would be nearly impossible to regularly mark and follow up on a 15 minute parking rule. Even if a violation was reported to the department, the responding officer would have to sit for the 15 minute period to observe a violation before a ticket could be issued or other enforcement action is taken. This isn’t practical,? Narsh said.
Lloyd Coe, owner of Ed’s Broadway Gift & Costume store had requested to Downtown Lake Orion that a 15-minute spot in front of his store at Broadway/Flint be established. He also suggested it would be a good idea to have such spaces on each of the four corners.
‘With the success of the local restaurants, the street parking is generally tied up between 4 and 10 p.m. Customers are discouraged from coming into our store if they just need a quick purchase,? Coe said.
LO Downtown Coordinator Becky Goodman sent a letter to business owners in the downtown core area asking for comments on the proposal. She told council members owners were split down the middle on the suggestion.
LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel recommended denying the request. She felt it served only a few businesses, there was no wide spread support from business owners for the spaces and it would be difficult to enforce.
‘I still see merchants parking in (downtown) spots,? councilman Harry Stephen said. ‘They should leave it for the customers. I also see employees parking there that the owner probably doesn’t know about.?
Fellow councilman Doug Dendel agreed. ‘There’s no reason for owners to park there except for loading and unloading,? he added.
Goodman said she had checked with other community officials. About 50 percent said their short-term parking spaces were a success, 50 percent said it wasn’t.
‘You’ll probably find those communities who liked it had plenty of enforcement and parking spaces weren’t a problem,? Narsh said.