Get ready to dish out more money to park in the business district

New hi-tech parking meters are being installed in the Jos. Campau business district. Prepare yourself for the new parking fees.

By Charles Sercombe
Better save up your quarters if you plan to park in the city’s Jos. Campau business district.
Actually, make that dollars – lots of them.
New hi-tech parking meters are being installed along Jos. Campau, and the side streets leading up alleys, as well as in all city-owned parking lots.
The cost of hourly parking will likely come as a shock to many in Hamtramck.
Instead of paying 25 cents for 30 minutes, the new fees will be a charge of $1 per hour.
How about getting a monthly pass? You’ll have to cough up $75 each month.
Another increase is for parking tickets. Instead of paying $5, you will be paying $25, which is better that the originally proposed $45.
The hours of operation will now be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Think you can chance it and park without paying, and dash around doing errands?
Nice try.
The meters are equipped with cameras that will record your license plate and automatically send you a ticket.
It has not yet been determined when the meters will be activated and the parking fees go into effect. The installation of the meters began a few weeks ago, and is ongoing.
All of this came about last summer, when the city administration brought forward a proposal for city council approval to hire a company, Municipal Parking Services, inc., which is based in Minnesota, to install the meters.
The deal is, the company gets 50 percent of the proceeds, and the city receives the other half. The contract with the company is good for five years, and after that it can be renewed or canceled.
If the city does decide, down the road, to back off from the deal, the company takes ownership of the meters.
Last June, City Manager Kathy Angerer told the city that the anticipated yearly revenue from the meters and fines will be over $100,000 per year. As of now, she said, the city receives little money from the meters.
“Having working meters allows shoppers to visit establishments to conduct business, and encourages them to move their vehicles once that business is complete,” Angerer said in a note to the city council.
There will be a five-minute grace period when you first pull in. But once the meter starts up, you will be responsible for paying for your parking.
If you overstay what you paid for, a photo of your license plate will be sent to the police department for review, and then a determination will be made whether to issue a ticket.
Don’t have any change in your pocket to feed the meter? No problem. There is an application you can download onto your phone to pay remotely.
There is a plus side to this.
If someone’s car gets damaged while parked, the security camera in the meters will record the incident. The police department can use this information to track down the culprit.
Posted June 4, 2021