Can we talk about how downtown Detroit parking fees jumped 40% in just 2 years

I run a small shop on Woodward near Campus Martius. Back in 2022, I could park my delivery van for $8 all day in that surface lot on Gratiot. Now they charge me $11.50 minimum and it keeps going up every few months. The city says it's about 'market rates' but I'm losing customers who say parking costs more than their coffee. Anyone else seeing this hurt their foot traffic numbers?

3 comments

3 Comments

seth_shah12d ago

Doesn't everything just cost more now for no real reason? I've noticed the same pattern at grocery stores and gas stations, prices jump and they never come back down even when supply chains fix themselves. The city uses that "market rate" excuse but it's just a way to squeeze more money out of regular people who have no choice. Pretty soon you'll need a loan just to park downtown for a few hours.

piper77911d ago

Isn't that just how businesses work though, they charge what people are willing to pay?

evan_green5210d ago

Jump right in and tell me about it. I saw a sign at that lot on Gratiot last week and almost choked on my coffee. $11.50 just to leave your van there for a few hours? Might as well throw in a foot massage for that price. Pretty soon they'll have us paying by the minute like some kind of parking meter timeshare. I had a guy come into my shop the other day and grumble that his $4 muffin turned into a $15 trip after parking. Ridiculous.