Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette The teardown of the Lakeshore Drive parking deck this spring is prompting a reconsideration of parking in downtown Houghton.

HOUGHTON — After the Lakeshore Drive parking deck comes down and surface parking is added, Houghton will have about 150 fewer parking spots.

With that, the city is rethinking its approach to parking downtown.

Houghton City Manager Eric Waara outlined some of the changes for the Houghton Planning Commission Tuesday.

Parking studies commissioned by the city have shown a surplus of about 300 spots. The city has 1,225 public spaces, most near the big deck. The downtown also has another 500 parking spots.

“Because we’ve had a surplus of parking downtown, it’s created a culture downtown that people generally don’t park unless they can park exactly where they want, and most of the time they’re able to do that,” Waara said.

Staff and owners from some downtown businesses frequently park on side streets and Shelden Avenue spaces intended for customers, alternating their cars every hour or two to avoid getting a parking ticket, Waara said.

The city could create 50 or 60 new spaces through more efficient use of existing space, Waara said. The width of spaces in some lots could be reduced from 10 feet to the standard nine. Striping hash marks on Shelden Avenue for recommended parking spots would also reduce wasted space, Waara said.

“You have a lot of places where there’s three parking spots between bumpouts and there’s two cars parked in there because people tend to park in a spot and a half,” Waara said.

Winter overnight trailers could also be moved to the Kestner Waterfront Park to free up space for cars, Waara said.

Once the deck demolition starts, people with permits to park on or under the deck will be able to park on side streets and on top of other decks.

Most overnight parking permits aren’t used during the summer. Those that remain will park in Lot 2 between Huron and Isle Royale streets. Anyone parking for longer than 48 hours will go to the lot by the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce.

The city’s parking task force is about halfway done with what parking will look like once the deck comes down. Many considerations come into play, including loading zones and grandfathered legal agreements such as the Daily Mining Gazette’s.

It’ll be simpler, Waara said. Houghton is looking at reducing the eight types of parking permits to three: day parking, overnight and temporary.

Day parking will be able to park in any lot. Overnight will switch sides of the parking lot once a week so the lot can be plowed. Waara said the goal is to have an excess capacity of 15 to 20% for overnight spaces.

Parking on Shelden Avenue, currently limited to one hour, could be extended to two to match the side streets. The city is also considering whether to add parking meters or kiosks.

“Somebody parking on Shelden Avenue to come to do a little business and grab a bite to eat, an hour’s not long enough, and we’ve been hearing that,” Waara said.

Overall, spots will be first-come, first-serve, Waara said.

“It’s going to take time for everybody to adjust … I get to work at 10 o’clock in the morning everyday, I might have to park further out,” he said.

The project for demolishing the deck and restoring surface parking is being adjusted after initial bids came back $1 million over budget. Waara said some optional items had been included with the idea of “taking some sprinkles off the cupcake” if estimates came in too high.

“We could implement those things down the road if we wanted to — buy more of these, plant more of those,” he said. “…’We were planning one, let’s try to do three.’ Maybe we’re just going to have to do one now.”

In other action Tuesday, the commission:

• Approved modifying the site plan for the Keweenaw Waters Resort. The site plan approved by the commission last year included 24 individual units along Canal Road. An amendment to the plan would change the final 12 units to two six-unit buildings. Developer Berek Bradway said the additional space would be used to provide better access from the upper terrace plateau to the shoreline.

• Approved reducing the parking requirements for the Kataluma Apartments at 1114 College Ave. from 40 to 38. In a letter to the commission, Bradway said none of the four spots across the street allocated for the site have been used for the past three years.

• Recommended the City Council approve the capital improvement plan. The planning commission recommended an addition to obtain ownership of and improve the Pewabic Street Garden. Houghton County currently owns the land.

Waara estimated the cost at $50,000, which was added to the projected expenses for 2025. Improvements were budgeted for $100,000 two years later.

• Approved holding the annual joint meeting with the City Council and the Downtown Development Authority on May 31.