Downtown residents complain about not enough parking

MARQUETTE — The Downtown Development Authority is dealing with a recent success resulting in parking issues for the downtown area.

At their monthly meeting the Downtown Development Authority had to come up with a plan to accommodate the influx in people living in the downtown area. Their success of getting more people to move into downtown Marquette is marred by people requesting overnight parking options, a request the DDA is not taking lightly.

“What we are looking at doing is adding overnight parking in the lower level of the Bluff Street parking ramp in the center isle. That parking would be available 6pm in the evening until 6am, the next morning. At that point they would have to move their vehicle to alternate parking but it will provide another option and a covered option for people who are in need of overnight parking downtown,” said Becky Salmon, Assistant Director, DDA.

The DDA admits that this solution is not ideal but it will solve the problem temporarily with winter just around the corner. They will explore other options for next year with feedback from residents. The winter parking ban starts Sunday, November first.