Houghton Master Plan subcommittee looks at parking

Members of the Houghton Master Plan subcommittee held their most recent meeting Monday afternoon, with developers and Michigan Tech officials on hand. The primary subject of discussion was parking, and the potential effects of R-4 zoning on the shortfall.

A small sliver of Houghton is designated R-4, about two blocks stretching west from the Meese Center and Flagstar Bank. Up for consideration this week is extending that to College Avenue for a new apartment complex. R-4 allows for denser housing because it lowers the requirements for on-site parking.

Member Kristine Bradoff floated the idea of creating a designated covered lot that could be linked to campus and other parts of the city through the transit system. Several members pointed out that Tech has experimented with this in lots near the Student Development Complex and ridership was too low to justify the busses making the run every 15 minutes as agreed upon.

Member Jennifer Julien said that the only way to entice students to leave their vehicles at home is to improve the transit system. Manager Eric Waara said that MDOT has explored the possibility of a regional network that could stretch to Calumet and Lake Linden, but all discussions have been preliminary in nature.

Gail Sanchez and Derek Bradway said roughly 90 percent of their tenants have vehicles. They point to one of Tech’s main selling points, the beauty of the Keweenaw, and note that it is impossible to fully explore the area if you do not have a means of transportation to get to Copper Harbor, or the Porcupine Mountains.

Theresa A. Coleman-Kaiser said Michigan Tech is seeing more students request parking accommodations this year, and the university is operating under the assumption that COVID concerns may be linked to the trend.