Ferndale Proposes New Parking Permit Program for Resident Seniors

If you’re a senior citizen living in Ferndale, it’s about to be cheaper and easier to park downtown.  

Ferndale City Council and staff will be moving forward with the City’s new Downtown Senior Parking Permit Program, which will offer $10 annual parking permits to members of the Ferndale Seniors Group.

The program was the result of a recommendation made following the City’s recent acceptance of a Communities for a Lifetime Award, presented toCity Council on Sept. 24, 2019. The award was the result of the City’s participation in the Community for a Lifetime Program—part of a broader national aging-friendly communities movement—sponsored by the State of Michigan’sDepartment of Health and Human Services. The award included a recommendation that the City consider a downtown parking permit to improve convenience for members of the senior community.

“Throughout the process we heard from seniors that downtown parking posed technological and financial barriers,” said Ferndale Councilwoman Raylon Leaks-May, who spearheaded the program in collaboration with Ferndale Seniors Group President Jeannie Davis and Ferndale resident/Citizens for a Fair Ferndale organization chair Kat LaTosch. “The point of Communities for a Lifetime is to create an environment that is friendly to all ages and abilities, one that allows seniors to age in place; this parking permit program helps us achieve that.”  

To be eligible for the program, which is tentatively set to begin in January 2020, you must be a Ferndale resident, age 65 or older, and be able to provide vehicle registration and driver’s license. The program is being offered as a benefit of the City’s Ferndale Seniors Group, so membership is required. (Learn more about the Ferndale Seniors Group and become a member.) Parking will be permitted in all current municipal parking lots. Due to bond restrictions, The dot mixed-used parking development, set to open in spring of 2020, cannot be included in this program, and while the City is sensitive to others with special needs, the program cannot be opened to non-seniors or non-residents.  

“I’m so thrilled to see that one of the recommendations made by our Communities for a Lifetime group has come to fruition,” Leaks-May said. “I’m looking forward to seeing you all downtown more often!”

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