EAST LANSING, Mich. — The East Lansing City Council is thinking about raising the cost of parking tickets.
According to a memo that's part of the materials for Tuesday night's Council meeting, city staff members suggest changing the fine for parking at an expired meter to $30 if paid within 14 days. The fee would be reduced by $10 if paid by the next business day, making it $20.
In 2004, the fee for an expired meter violation was $25 or $15 if paid within seven days. That fine was reduced to $20 in 2010 with a reduced payment of $10 if paid within 14 days. The ordinance has not been revisited in twelve years.
East Lansing has 250 metered parking spaces in the downtown area; 96 of which or individual meters and 143 pay-by-plate spaces. The memo says, "These spots are generally limited to 90 minutes and are designed for rapid turnover and to encourage availability of on-street parking for patrons to visit downtown businesses."
City officials declined to discuss the proposed change prior to Tuesday's Council meeting.
The memo says city staff believe increasing the metered parking fine would "eliminate financial incentive" to get a parking fine at a meter and encourage daily parking in ramps to keep metered parking open for people who only need to park for a short amount of time.
The daily maximum rate for most parking structures is $15.
Gated parking garages are currently $0.75 per half hour with a $15 maximum. The Bailey Street parking lot has a $1.00 fee per half hour with a daily maximum of $20. The city's parking department is proposing increasing the Albert Avenue and Grove Street garage to be the same as the Bailey lot with rates at $1 per half hour with a $20 maximum.
The full memo can be found here.
This item is up for discussion at Tuesday night's meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.
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