City of Monroe to remove parking meters
The City of Monroe is eliminating most of the metered parking in its downtown area, but the spots will remain time-limited.
At its meeting Monday, Monroe City Council unanimously approved seven traffic control orders (TCOs) eliminating metered parking along E. Front St., South Macomb Street, East Second Street, Washington Street, the Johnson-Phinney parking lot, and the Front/Macomb St. parking lot.
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City Manager Vince Pastue said that the meters themselves will likely not be removed for a couple of months, as the work will be done by the city's Department of Public Services when they can fit it into their schedule. The meters will be covered up until then.
The parking spots will retain the same time limits that are currently in effect.
"We looked at how parking demand has changed as a result, certainly of the pandemic, with more people working from home," Pastue said. "Also the reduction of downtown employment, particularly with the merger with Monroe Bank and Trust and First Merchants Bank, as well as the activity in the courthouse changing as far as going more and more to electric filing and video-type hearings. Clearly here in the city, we've done a lot of changes as well to encourage more and more electronic transactions..."
This change leaves only two locations in the city's downtown district where parking meters will continue to operate. The first is the South Macomb St. parking lot, which will soon be transferred to First Merchants Bank as part of a land transfer in which the city will acquire 212 E. Front St. The other location is the parking lot adjacent to Monroe City Hall, which city administration indicated will likely see the introduction of a single pay station in the near future to replace the existing meters.
Pastue said that the city will continue to monitor parking throughout the city, and enforce the time limits where applicable.
"Free parking in the downtown," said Councilman Andrew Felder. "I think it's good news for all."
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: City of Monroe to remove parking meters
