8/12/14 - Does Brighton need a downtown parking garage? It's a question that has taken on greater meaning with the downtown becoming an attraction for diners and shoppers, especially on the weekend. The city purchased land on North Street that currently is being used for temporary parking, but would be the location of the proposed garage. Eric Wall, owner of the Yum Yum Tree, said he would rather see the space get used in another way. "To me that is too close a plot as far as land use goes to put a parking structure there. It's convenient, but to me it would be waste of land." Other businesses downtown echoed Wallâs thoughts by saying a parking garage would be too much, and is not needed. The city has estimated the cost for a parking garage to be $7 million for a 191-space, four level structure. DDA Director Matt Modrack said this is too expensive of a price tag, and is exploring other options. Vice chairman of the DDA and owner of Cooper and Binkley Jewelers, Mark Binkley said he doesnât think a parking garage will be built in the near future. "It would be nice to have, but I'm not sure it's going to be in anyone's budget anytime soon to have something like that built." He also said one of the problems with parking downtown is that employees are parking in the prime spots that should go to customers. He says that more consumer friendly spaces would open up in front of businesses if people who would be downtown for long hours parked farther away. (AV)
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