Press Release
Contact:
Matt Bach
Director of Communications
Michigan Municipal League
(734) 669-6317; C: (810) 874-1073
[email protected]; www.mml.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 29, 2019
Ypsilanti Parking Strategy Ready to Roll
Support from MEDC’s Redevelopment Ready Communities® program and Michigan Municipal League get plans moving
Ann Arbor, Michigan – The City of Ypsilanti will be finalizing a parking strategy for the downtown, Depot Town and West Cross business districts through a series of public meetings April 3. The work is made possible through assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) Redevelopment Ready Communities® (RRC) program and the Michigan Municipal League (MML).
As Ypsilanti’s long-vacant buildings have been renovated and put into use over the past few years, parking pressures on the business districts have increased. In 2018, the city and Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority approached MEDC for support in creating a comprehensive parking strategy through the RRC program. MEDC provided a technical assistance grant, administered by the League, to retain Southfield-based parking consultants Rich & Associates and Detroit planning firm Giffels Webster for the strategy.
“We’ve been very successful at creating downtown places where people want to be, and that has created new needs, like a better approach to parking,” said Joe Meyers, economic development director for the City of Ypsilanti. “We really appreciate this assistance from the MEDC and the League and feel confident that these efforts will help downtown continue to be welcoming and accessible.”
To create the strategy, the consultant team evaluated the city’s existing parking policies, conducted inventories of parking use at various times and days, and held focus group discussions in each business district. They will be presenting their final report and recommendations on April 3 in “neighborhood meetings” held in each of the three downtown business districts, and in a joint meeting of the Ypsilanti City Council and YDDA Board, at the following locations:
- 11 am-Noon at Heritage Auto Museum (100 E Cross St) – Depot Town Neighborhood Meeting
- 1-2 pm at City Council Chambers (1 S Huron St) – Downtown Neighborhood Meeting
- 4-5 pm at DO:BETTER (731 W Cross St) – West Cross Neighborhood Meeting
- 7-9 pm at Riverside Arts Center (76 N. Huron St) – Joint City Council/DDA Board Meeting
Ypsilanti was one of the first cities in the state to be certified through the RRC program, which recognizes communities for having transparent and predictable development practices, qualifying it for this technical assistance from MEDC. In partnership with MEDC and the Michigan Municipal League Foundation, the MML has already worked with over a dozen cities on advancing the redevelopment potential of their community.
“We were pleased to provide the City of Ypsilanti with some valuable development tools,” said Dan Gilmartin, CEO and Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League. “We hope this support will help local businesses continue to thrive.”
To learn more about the City of Ypsilanti project—as well as projects in communities across the state—visit placemaking.mml.org/great-places.
For additional information, contact the League’s Matt Bach, director of communications, at (810) 874-1073 (cell); (734) 669-6317 (office) and [email protected].
About the League: Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services, and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org.