Changes may be coming soon to controversial parking meters in Royal Oak
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - "We've got to look for a parking spot where we don't have to pay, makes it harder to get our deliveries done," said Andrew Langdon, a delivery driver in Royal Oak.
In addition to businesses and residents complaining about the city's parking meters, delivery drivers say it's making their job more difficult too.
Langdon says the current five-minute grace period isn't enough time to park, get in and out of a restaurant and back in his car. He said it forces some drivers to cancel orders from restaurants in downtown Royal Oak.
"A lot of times we don't make much so every little bit helps," Langdon said.
"We hear their concerns," said Royal Oak City Manager Paul Brake, City Manager of Royal Oak.
The parking meter complaints are nothing new in downtown Royal Oak. From complaints about the back in parking on Washington Avenue to claims of people being wrongly ticketed, the city is aware of these concerns.
Brake said the city is currently in negotiations with the company that installed the parking meters to make some necessary changes.
The city did not pay for the equipment and is currently under contract with a revenue sharing model, Brake says.
Brake says he expects the grace period to be extended from five minutes to 15 minutes and is also negotiating raising the maximum time allowed from two hours to three hours.
"We are currently in talks with them and hope by early April that we should have that resolved and present that at a public meeting to take action and making the changes shortly thereafter," he said.
Langdon believes these changes will give a boost to the restaurant industry as well as good delivery drivers.
"I think so I think it would… it definitely would, I think that other dashers and food delivery people would appreciate it," Langdon said.
