The City of Ypsilanti will take responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Washington Street Parking Lot located in downtown Ypsilanti. The lot is co-owned by the city, Eastern Michigan University and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.

The lot, adjacent to the AATA Transit Center, has been a source of problems in recent years, and city officials said they will now be able to address those issues and generate revenue from the centrally located lot.

The city is entering into a five-year lease at $1 annually with EMU to take over the university’s 72 spots. The city currently owns 91 spaces. In return, the city will remove four parking meters from the southwest corner of Adams and Pearl Streets so the AATA bus can drop off students directly in front of the College of Business.

Previously, EMU was “renting” the four meters on North Adams Street at a cost of $25 each per day. Over the span of 30 weeks, that equated to roughly $15,000 in revenue for the city. A traffic control order that previously allowed an AATA bus to drop students off on the side of Adams Street expired on June 30.

EMU stopped paying rent on the meters, and the AATA bus began dropping off students in the middle of the street, which blocked traffic, instead of dropping them off at the transit center. EMU also had assumed responsibility for the lot's maintenance.

Students who commute to the College of Business have been parking in the Washington Street Lot for free and walking a block to class instead of paying for a $75 fee to park in the business school's parking structure.

The lot’s striping has faded and the city has regularly received complaints from people whose cars are “parked in” by other cars. Officials have complained about litter and broken glass. The city recently assigned a downtown beat cop who regularly patrols the area, but the bus stop and lot have traditionally experienced higher crime than other areas downtown.

City Manager Ed Koryzno said the city will use the revenue from the EMU's renting of the North Adams Street meters to help pay for repaving and restriping the lot. The city also plans to install meters or gates in the lot and charge 50 cents per hour for those without residential and employee parking tags.

The city will also step up ticket enforcement in the lot beginning Nov. 15. Until the lot is resurfaced and meters or gates installed, the spaces will offer two hours of free parking. City officials said they will inform downtown businesses and residents of the changes.

City Council member Brian Robb said he thought the move would help reduce problems with the lot and surrounding vicinity.

“This is great for Ypsilanti," he said.