DETROIT (WXYZ) — Between games and concerts at downtown arenas, and a boom in Detroit's restaurant industry, parking in Detroit's Brush Park can seem impossible some nights.
A woman who lives nearby told 7 Action News, "There’s been a couple nights when there’s been events at all three arenas and Fox Theater. I’ve given up and just driven to my parent's house and stayed the night there because I can’t find parking."
Detroit's Municipal Parking Department is aware of these parking problems and in response they are drafting a proposal to designate streets where only residents can park after certain hours.
The department has had multiple community meetings this past month to gather feedback on a plan to add parking meters and designate zones that would require a paid permit for night-time or overnight parking.
The same woman we spoke to who called parking by her apartment, "impossible," said this idea sounded "great."
Another Brush Park resident, Matt Smith told 7 Action News, "I think there needs to be a balance too because we want people in the area with like the businesses coming in and stuff like that."
Paid parking lots we checked out in the area were running for $20.
Members of Alpha Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi, two historic African-American fraternities located within Brush Park have been vocal about their disapproval of the idea.
In a community meeting, the president of Detroit's Alpha Phi Alpha noted that they have senior members who come to their meetings and to ask them to park block away is wrong.
The parking department told 7 Action News that after recent community meetings they've received more feedback from residents and are determining whether any adjustments need to be made to their plan before it is submitted to city council.
They expect to submit their final plan in the coming weeks and residents are eager to see what it will include.
"I don’t know the solution," said Smith. "I think it’s good for residential value, people need a place to park, it’s very limited right now but you also don’t want to cut off everyone else either."
