Wolverine football fans hope to ease parking problems around Michigan Stadium
The traffic and attempts to find game-day parking around Michigan Stadium can be more reminiscent of a stampede than an intricate dance. Long-time Ann Arbor resident and Michigan football fan Taylor Bond thinks his company can help choreograph a better system.
“You just click a button, create a reservation, print out your ticket, and you know you have a spot waiting for you,” he said.
“People know they have a spot, and the owner of the lot gets all the info about people coming to the event. It makes the process easier for everyone.”
Taylor Bond is a University of Michigan graduate who started Park N Party last year with partner Jason Kapica
Courtesy Taylor Bond
Bond said the company has access to 2,500 parking spaces for each football game, 1,500 of which are located at the Ann Arbor Golf and Outing Club, a popular tailgate spot across the street from Michigan Stadium.
“But it’s not just the big lots we want to work with,” he said.
“We’d love to work with the smaller 8-9 spot lots. We want to help them fill up their lots so they never have to go out in the cold and wave a flag again.”
Bond’s goal is to become the centralized hub people come to for parking information on gamedays. Park N Party has upgraded its system so it can send text message alerts to reservation holders regarding traffic patters and parking availability.
“A lot of what we found from doing this last year is that there is just a huge need people have to talk to someone about parking for the game,” he said.
“People come from literally all over the world to these games, and they just want someone to assure them they’ll have a place to park.”
With the Stadium Boulevard bridge still out of commission, Bond believes his parking system will be even more valuable in helping was traffic around the stadium.
“What we learned is that people who make reservations don’t come as early to the games, and they’re not worried about finding a spot, so they don’t drive as crazy,” he said.
“So it spreads out the traffic more over the course of the day and you’ll have less clumping together and less insanity in the long run.”
This also was the first year Park N Party worked with Republic Parking downtown at the Art Fairs.
“It was a very positive experience,” Republic Parking manager Art Low said.
“Overall about 1 percent of our user base used the program, and we think that will expand if we work with them again next year, and we plan to.”
After he makes sure that all of his customers are happy, Bond joins them inside the Big House.
“I’ve been going to games for 30-plus years. I have my season tickets and I’m at every game,” he said.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2
Comments
GameDay Parking
Wed, Sep 5, 2012 : 1:27 a.m.
Another way to find parking for UofM home games is with the new GameDay Parking - Ann Arbor app for iPhone. It shows all the unreserved parking in Ann Arbor - parking garages and private yards - along with price, walking distance to the stadium, and more. While it isn't a reservation service like Park N Party, it shows all the unreserved parking offered by anyone around town. You can find out more at www.gamedayparkingapps.com.
Macabre Sunset
Mon, Sep 3, 2012 : 5:02 p.m.
Unless the occupancy rate of these spaces is close to 100%, I don't see how this does anything but increase the parking problems. How do you do a fair study of the traffic flow issue, too? Maybe the people likely to use this service are people who would park late if they decided to go? With Michigan football, it's very easy. Park a mile away on a side street and walk. As long as you're far enough from the bottlenecks, it's not too hard to get in and out.
Cleatus12
Mon, Sep 3, 2012 : 3:06 p.m.
I have been parking cars a block away from the stadium for 22 years. I can appreciate Bond and his creative business idea, however, I will never forego the opportunity to stand in front of my house and flag down cars. Why pay someone for a service I can provide more efficiently, while having a great time.
Andrea Zastrow
Tue, Sep 4, 2012 : 1:08 p.m.
Also. If you wave them in yourself, you have some say over who is in your yard and what they're doing there. The last thing I want is for somebody to send a carload of trouble to my house and not be able to tell them "not here."
xmo
Mon, Sep 3, 2012 : 2:28 p.m.
Nothing like private people risking their own money to make money! I love it!
Ellis Sams
Mon, Sep 3, 2012 : 2:13 p.m.
The city should build a parking structure in Allmendinger Park and lease it to the university for 99 years. Football fans can use it on Saturdays, and during the week, U of M employees can park there and take a dedicated bus to work or the new train station.
Laura J
Tue, Sep 4, 2012 : 12:18 a.m.
My son has football practice at Allendinger during the fall. As someone who frequents the park beause of this, I always see people using the park; walking dogs, throwng a frisbee and hitting a ball are just a few of the many activities people enjoy. Yea, let's pave it! Amazingly, short sighted.
walker101
Mon, Sep 3, 2012 : 1:33 p.m.
Not to worry about, just call Brewers towing service and they'll provide parking and security, plus you'll get to donate to your favorite art society in A2 for just a few hundred that you'll make on the game.
a2ex-pat
Tue, Sep 4, 2012 : 1:50 a.m.
How witty of you @walker101...if you live near the stadium, maybe you should open your driveway and front lawn to anyone who would like free parking. That'll show those mean old tow truck drivers a thing or two.