DEARBORN — From the site of the former Avant Garde bridal shop on Monroe and Michigan Avenue all the way down to the old Inca Computers building near Military, the number of vacant properties in the city’s west downtown area has been a problem for years. 

Comments from business owners and customers for the past few years have re-confirmed what could well be a related problem festering on the area’s business scene: the continued hassle of paid parking meters, especially in light of July 2011 price hikes. 

The decision to raise the rates to 25 cents per 15 minutes for the first hour and 75 centers for each following hour by the city council as part of its 2011-2012 budget has taken its toll on businesses in the area at a time when the economy remains troublesome and the amount of foot traffic in the area has decreased, especially during daytime hours, making what was already a serious problem even worse. 

“It’s killing everybody and every business next to me, they’re all saying the same exact thing, that the paid parking is hurting everybody really bad,” said Good Times Caffe owner Bilal Mroue, to which co-owner Nick Sleiman agreed, he said. The cafe is located in the heart of the area but Mroue said that the paid parking has made what seems like an ideal location on the surface an undesirable spot. “We only have six free spots and when customers don’t find empty ones and know they have to pay for parking they’ll go across the street to Starbucks for coffee (instead).” 

A few blocks down from Good Times, the restaurant L.A. Bistro is dealing with its own set of problems stemming from the meters. 

Owner Souheil Johair said that customers from other cities often complain about paid parking, especially the jump in the rates, especially in one particular segment.

“Wow, did that create some drama with some of these older folks,” he said. “A dollar an hour, they couldn’t believe it, they were yelling at me like I’m the mayor, I felt terrible for them.” 

Older customers in particular also do not realize the difference between the green one-hour limit meters and other longer meters, which are orange. A sign noting the difference is posted at the far end of the L.A. Bistro parking lot which is too far for many of them to walk. Another common complaint from customers is is that the change machines nearby often run out quickly, causing more hassles for customers. The clear inside part of the meter where the time remaining is shown also notes the time limit, but it is fairly hard to discern, especially for older people. 

Young people also have difficulties with the meters at L.A. Bistro, however. 

“I’m trying to do everything I can so the meters do not change my business,” Johair said. “I run bus boys out there to feed the meters in the middle of dinner because so often people get up in the middle of dinner to feed them and then walk back in the cold…I’ve even paid some peoples’ parking tickets.”

Johair has also experimented with valet parking, paying out of pocket to offer it to customers to keep the positive momentum of his business going, but the expenses remain challenging. 

Dearborn Department of Public Information Director Mary Laundroche said that the city was very supportive of a free valet parking feature offered by businesses in the area, but it has now concluded.

“The city is always willing to support workable ideas that would benefit businesses and still provide the revenue to cover the operation and debt costs of the parking lots and structures that the businesses use,” she said. 

Laundroche noted that the parking issue is an ongoing one and the Parking Advisory Commission meets regularly to respond to businesses’ concerns and to fine-tune the system, which began in 2005. 

“Ultimately, the debt service needs to be covered. User-paid parking was the voter-approved method to cover the costs of the renovated parking lots and new structures that serve the businesses by providing the parking they need. In turn, the businesses need to attract customers for compelling reasons.” 

Johair’s business has been attracting more than its fair share of customers, but his bottom line has taken a hit in several ways.

He said that he has lowered prices on his menu in order to make up for the meter fees. He remains busy as he gets ready to move his location into a bigger area near Nichols Ski & Snowboard down the street, but he worries about the future and about other businesses in the area. 

“It’s hurting the west Dearborn area so much, people tell me all the time that they’re never coming back to Dearborn again.” 

Parking commission statistics released this month show that total usage of meters has dropped in virtually every parking facility in west Dearborn from 2010 to 2011, more than 15,000 less transactions. Income levels are falling short of the city’s goals, the report said. Calls to commission members were not returned as of press time. Many businesses have given up over the years, including recent places such as the UPS Store and Cold Stone Creamery on Michigan Avenue The Little Professor bookstore and Little Cafe where Good Times Caffe currently resides, and many others. Conversely, new businesses have sprung up in the unpaid parking lot area on Michigan Avenue near Military and the former Inca building, including O’Sushi Restaurant, Deliziosa Restaurant, Schwarma Plate, Biggby Coffee and Iversen’s Bakery. 

A Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 13 will decide whether or not a new Goodwill Industries store will be added to the former Inca building as well. The area is picking up, but large, noticeable vacant spots remain, symbolic of a widespread problem that has snowballed. Many business owners on Michigan Avenue downtown have said that each closing of a shop or restaurant, no matter how small, affects their bottom line because of their symbiotic relationships in drawing customers. 

Business owners like Mroue say that paid parking remains the top issue. Despite customer compliments and devoted regulars who frequent the business, attracting long-term business is a serious challenge for he and many others on both sides of Michigan Avenue. 

“We’re going on ten months, and I’ve invested a lot, but the parking has been bad and it’s not easy to swallow,” he said. “They raised it a little while ago and that made it even worse, you go to east Dearborn and nobody has to pay.” 

“If I had known it would be this bad, I would have went to Dearborn Heights.”