NORTHVILLE, Mich. – A new restaurant in Northville has brought with it a special problem for people living nearby.
The Garage Grill and Fuel Bar opened a week ago, taking over a remodeled building which at one time housed a service station and garage.
Business has been booming, which is good for the owners. But people living nearby, such as Sue Boelter, have a problem.
"The traffic has been horrendous. The street is parked with cars starting from 4:30 p.m. until after midnight," Boelter said.
The restaurant has a capacity of 200 people, but it only has 14 parking spaces. There are municipal parking lots nearby, but customers are taking up the nearest spaces, which happen to be in the residential neighborhood.
That troubles Clover Sessions, who lives nearby.
"We're residences, not businesses, and we are getting business parking," Sessions said.
Carole Stockhausen is a Northville resident who does not see the situation as a big problem.
"Every time we have a festival in town it's packed with parking. We're used to it and I just don't see it as a big thing. We think it's wonderful that there is a new restaurant in town," Stockhausen said.
Questions about parking have been raised to the Northville Planning Commission since the project was first proposed a year ago. Boelter would like to see some action taken.
"What the residents would like to see is residents-only parking," Boelter said.
Northville has never used that kind of permit parking before. The Downtown Development Authority has a committee on parking. It plans to review the issue.