Traverse City could launch a new downtown valet parking program as soon as Wednesday if city commissioners approve the proposal tonight (Monday).

The proposal is on the consent calendar of the city commission agenda, meaning staff believe the item is non-controversial and will receive approval without debate. Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members Friday unanimously approved launching an 11-week pilot program to test out a downtown valet service before potentially expanding the program year-round. The service has a proposed June 20 start date.

The owners of three local restaurants – Amical, Red Ginger, and Slate/Sorellina – have agreed to foot the bill for a contract with private valet company At Your Service Valet to test out the service. At Your Service Valet has also provided valet services at Munson Medical Center while the hospital’s main parking lot is under construction.

According to the proposal, a valet podium would be installed on the sidewalk near the State Theatre  (pictured) with one loading zone space and one metered space bagged for the service. The valet service would be available Wednesday-Saturday from 5pm to 11pm this summer and would allow restaurant, retail and theater visitors to pull up to the podium and drop off their car, park as long as needed during operating hours, then have the car returned when they’re ready to leave downtown. The cars would be stored in private parking spaces downtown through contracts At Your Service Valet has entered into with private property owners.

“The valet cars would not be parked in the public spots, they would be utilizing surface parking lots that would be better utilized than just (sitting) empty,” DDA CEO Jean Derenzy told DDA board members. “So it frees up public parking spaces as well.” The service would not operate during events when Front Street is closed off, such as during Friday Night Live and National Cherry Festival and Traverse City Film Festival events. The rate structure for customers utilizing the service has not yet been released.

While the three restaurateurs have agreed to foot the bill for the contract – with the rest of revenues coming from customer fees paid by those using the valet – the service will be available to visitors throughout all of downtown, not just customers of those specific eateries. Several of the participating restaurant owners – including John McGee of Slate/Sorellina and Dave Denison of Amical – appeared before the DDA board Friday to express their support for the program and explain their hope that the pilot program would lead to a year-round service for customers.

“One of the things I learned about valet is that it’s used three times more in the winter than in the summer,” said Denison. “So here it is, a (pilot program) for eleven weeks in the summer. If it’s successful in the summer, I think it’ll be successful in the winter. The company we’ve agreed to work with would like to do it all year.”

At Your Service Valet has agreed to track user data for the DDA during the pilot period, including use by hour (cars coming and going), destination (reason for using the valet), and users (local versus visitor and in-state versus out-of-state). That data will allow the DDA to determine if the program could be sustainable year-round. If so, city officials will need to decide whether to rewrite the city’s ordinance to allow the DDA to take over the program and run it as a public service, or to continue contracting with a private firm to offer the program.

The pilot service is one of several options the DDA is exploring as part of a three-year plan to alleviate parking issues downtown based on the results of a recent transportation demand management study. “The goal of the (pilot project) is to provide an optional service to the public for patrons who would like to take advantage of valet services, reduce the perception that there is no available parking, and alleviate traffic congestion for those circling the block looking for parking,” Derenzy wrote in a memo to City Manager Marty Colburn. “The pilot will help us gain information to evaluate what protocols we need to put in place for a more permanent program.”