'Free Parking Friday' promotion cost Lansing about $15,000 per month

Correction: The city of Lansing is planning a parking study that is expected to cost $75,000. The cost of the study was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

LANSING — The city ended its Free Parking Friday promotion March 31 without much notice by residents and with a sizable hit to the parking division.

Scott Bean, spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor's administration, said Monday the promotion started nearly a year ago, in June, to get more traffic to downtown and Old Town but the endeavor came with a significant cost.

"It cost the city a lot of money — $15,000 a month," he said.

That totals about $150,000 up until April 1.

Free two-hour parking started after the city piloted a month-only program in December 2021. The promotion applied to all on-street metered parking.

All is not lost as some business owners loved the deal and it encouraged more people to visit on a usually slow day in the city, which has been part of the city's ongoing conversations with Downtown Lansing Inc., a nonprofit focused on Lansing's downtown area.

Bean said city officials are working with the parking department to determine the best compromise. A parking study that is expected to cost $75,000 will start soon, he said, but results will take time as the city needs to appoint a firm to do the research.

The study is built into the 2024 city budget. Options could include free 15-minute parking to allow people to grab and go from a business.

"I hope we get a good comprehensive broad look at parking in general," he said. "Not just focused on meters or on-street parking, we're pretty anxious to see what a real study will turn up."

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing lost $15,000 per month with free parking promotion