LANSING, Mich. — The Holt Farmers Market recently replaced a fence around their lot revoking the use of their once shared parking lot, but now nearby business owners are speaking out saying the change is more than an inconvenience for them, it's a safety concern.
Both Caterpillar Corner Learning Center and Fusion Dance Center sit adjacent to the farmer's market and have used the once-shared parking lot in the past.
But now, with a literal barrier in the way they're forced to make some major adjustments.
The farmers market parking lot is now fenced off and empty, but just next door the Caterpillar Corner Learning Center and Fusion Dance Center's parking lot is nearly full.
"We are all on the one side and its hard to see when you are backing out and I don't think we are going to have enough spaces," Larisa Swisk, of Fusion Dance Center, said.
"We have parents who have just wrapped around, we have parents that have been trying to park on the sidewalk in the area that's the main area to get out of the driveway," Regina Fancher, Caterpillar Corner Learning Center Director, said.
But it's not just about the lack of parent and staff parking, there's also concern about where to put the bus that carries school-aged children with a fence in the way.
"They would come through the parking lot on this side and wrap around so that way they could come safely. So they are now talking about that they may have to start parking across the street and us walking the children across Cedar to get into the building, that's not safe," Fancher said.
Both the learning center and Fusion Dance Center say the parking lot has been an issue with the market even before a fence was put up, but both businesses were still surprised when they received a notice from the Delhi Charter Downtown Development Authority last week, revoking the businesses use of its parking lot during events.
"We were really taken back because we have always tried to comply with the farmers market and whenever they were having activities," Fancher said.
Fancher believe putting up an actual fence as a parking reminder is taking it too far because now they have to adjust their emergency plans.
"We have always used the farmers market parking lot for safety escapes in case of a fire, but now with the fence up, we can't do that, which the main concern for our infant room, they are in roll-away cribs and the only access we have now is to go through the parking lot on the other side around staff cars and up over an embankment to get to another parking lot that's safe. Otherwise we would have to cross Cedar Street," Fancher said.
Fox 47 reached out to the DDA who released a statement saying the fence was put up for safety and parking for farmers market customers.
They also added that neighboring businesses are welcomed to park in the lot outside of DDA events.
The Holt downtown development authority is held a meeting at the community center Tuesday at 7 p.m. to discuss concerns over the fence.
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