Business & Tech
Valet Parking Initiative Ends in West Dearborn
Mired in problems, the pilot system set to run three months was cut short when the valet company withdrew on Jan. 5.
West downtown Dearborn's valet parking system has ended, the Parking Commission announced Thursday.
The three-month pilot–which began Thursday, Dec. 15–ended on Jan. 5 when disagreements between partners in the program resulted in the withdrawl of the valet company entirely.
The valet program was initiated in December after several months of discussion by downtown businesses, property owners, the city and the .
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The service was to be available 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and was free to patrons of participating bars and restaurants, which validated tickets.
Other users of the paid parking will be charged $5 for the service per use.
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The program was set to run for three months with participating businesses contributing funds to pay for a total of 100 parking spaces.
According to a written summary of the program, multiple factors led to the premature end of the program.
- Poor customer participation, from around two to 10 per night on average, resulting in a extremely decreased need for parking spots.
- Inconsistent business participation–including several allegedly refusing to validate valet parking passes.
- Disagreements over placement of signs.
However, manager Steven Guibord said Thursday that the demise of the plan–which officially ended when valet parking company owner Patrick Allison withdrew his participation on Jan. 5–was not necessarily a bad idea altogether.
"The valet parking concept is a good one," said Guibord, who sits on the WDDDA. "The way it got rolled out was done incorrectly."
Guibord mentioned, as an example, the lack of marketing of the system, which resulted in many downtown patrons not being aware of its availability.
Additionally, he said, it clearly worked better for some businesses than for others.
"It’s not good for every part of the district, but in certain areas it will benefit."
WDDDA Board Member and real estate owner Hakim Fakhoury has expressed interest in reviving the program, including getting Allison's company back on board. However, as of Thursday's Parking Commission meeting, no actions had been made.
