KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Kalamazoo city commissioners on Monday are scheduled to take a final vote on a proposal to increase parking fines downtown by at least 50 percent.
It is part of a five-year plan to raise money to make repairs and upgrades to the downtown parking system — particularly the ramps.
Some fines would double under the proposal.
If approved, the increases would take effect July 1. Other parts of the plan call for across-the-board rate hikes in coming years.
A number of residents expressed their opposition when the higher fines and rates were proposed two weeks ago. Downtown officials argue that patrons also pay for parking when they go to the mall or the suburbs to shop — it’s just folded in the cost of the products you buy.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Kalamazoo City Hall.
