You May Soon Have To Pay For Parking At The Beach In Grand Haven

There is something special about spending a sunny afternoon in downtown Grand Haven. The businesses are cute, the food is incredible, and you can easily stroll the streets before you make your way to the beach to watch the sunset over Lake Michigan

But, local businesses in Grand Haven are worried they'll see fewer people coming through their doors soon if a proposal passes that would allow the city of Grand Haven to start charging for street parking.

Why does Grand Haven want to charge for parking?

According to their mayor, the city has seen a shortfall when it comes to their budget. The idea of paid street parking originated in 2019, and a committee was formed to explore how it would impact the area. In 2020, the proposal was tabled due to the pandemic, and now the city is re-approaching the idea.

How much will parking cost if it passes?

The plan would be that your first 15 minutes would be free. After that, you would pay $1 an hour for downtown parking, and $2 an hour for beachside parking. The prices wouldn't be year round either, the city plans to only charge for parking from May 1st - September 1st.

So yes, it will still be cheaper to get a pronto pup than it will be to park at the beach next to it for an hour.

Also, you won't have to worry about having quarters, because the current proposed plan would spend $30,000 to install meters with digital payment capabilities, that would be paid off within the first year of their installation.

Many business owners however, aren't a fan of the proposal. They say they are concerned that the cost of parking may deter people from wanting to come downtown, or that it will limit the number of places that people will visit due to wanting to save money on parking. And with limited spaces for lots to be built, it would be extremely hard to work around privately.

The proposal is up for discussion at Monday April 25th's meeting, and you can read more about it here if you're interested.