New city parking permit law could affect student parking
Brightly colored signs along several Mount Pleasant roads now let drivers know if they can park in some neighborhoods near Central Michigan University’s campus.
A new law will require passes when parking from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the neighborhood from West Campus drive to High Street to Preston Street.
The law went into effect on August 11. Parking permits are for residents living on these streets only.
Brian Kench, the city’s building official, said residents of those neighborhoods have long wanted parking changes due to people frequently parking on those roads.
“The folks that have lived over there on those streets have requested restricted parking for years,” Kench said.
Kench said the city will be giving out courtesy notices informing people of the changes to non-residents who park on the newly pass-required roads for two weeks after August 25.
After September 8, people who park in those areas without permits will receive standard parking tickets. Tickets for parking in a prohibited area are $30.
Kench said after receiving parking restriction requests for a long time, the city eventually took a different approach.
“At first we were dealing with individual concerns but now we’re taking a more comprehensive approach to managing on-street parking,” Kench said.
Kench said people have already been parking less on those specific roads since the law passed.
“We’ve seen a lot of shifts in traffic and shifts in parking in those areas,” Kench said.
