To encourage shoppers to visit downtown Grand Rapids, motorists will be offered 60 minutes of free parking again this year during the holiday shopping season -- a $2 value.
Downtown merchants and restaurants will distribute coupons imbedded with magnetized strips that grant shoppers free one-hour parking when checking out at parking lot gates, according to Pamela Ritsema, the city's parking services director. If shoppers park longer than one hour, the new automatic payment machines installed over the past six months will calculate the remaining amount due. Payments can be made with cash or credit card, she says.
"We've found that people spend more on parking than the value that we give away," she says, noting that the city is picking up the bill for ticket printing.
Last year shoppers could print out free one-hour passes by downloading coupons from the Downtown Alliance's website. Ritsema says 1,184 coupons were redeemed last year, about the same number that has been used each year since the program started in 2005.
The promotion also offers a $2 discount on event rates. It will start on Thanksgiving Day and continue through Dec. 31. Coupons can be redeemed at any of these five city parking ramps: Monroe Center, Louis Campau, Ottawa-Fulton, Pearl-Ionia and Cherry-Commerce.
Source: Pamela Ritsema, parking services director for city of Grand Rapids
Sharon Hanks is the innovation and jobs news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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