Excess parking at businesses could be used for future construction of new establishments, according to two consultants hired by the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission.
One of the independent planning contractors, Rich Morrison, told the commission Thursday that there is a lot of parking space not being used at local establishments.
“There are incredible amounts of land on Mission that are being unutilized,” he said.
The other consultant, Zach Michels, said Mount Pleasant requires one parking space for every 140 square feet of a business.
He said the Kmart and JCPenny mall has 1,594 spaces, of which at most 227 spaces were occupied at any time in March.
“I ask people when it’s the busiest time of the year,” Michels said. “You try to get them at the busiest time to make it (parking numbers) as accurate as possible.”
Michels suggested creating walkways at some establishments to make it easier and more appealing for people to walk from one place to another, especially in the winter.
“I see people with bikes and walking their dogs all the time in the cold,” he said. “It’s not very pleasant to walk between dumpsters.”
Commissioner Eric Johnson suggested integrating stores into the campus and benches in the summertime where pedestrians could stop and rest.
“I give lectures sometimes in the IET building and I have to walk all the way to the bakery for coffee,” he said.
Michels said that raises the question of pedestrian traffic, and the consultants are trying to get someone interested in developing establishments.
“We can have the best plans in the world, but they’re no good if nobody wants to build them,” he said.
