Changes to downtown parking took effect on April 1, 2026, aimed at making it easier to find a spot where demand is highest.
What changed
- Two paid zones. The Premium Rate Zone in the core of downtown is $2 per hour, the same as the Kalamazoo Mall rate. The Base Rate Zone on surrounding streets is $1.50 per hour, down from the previous $1.75 system-wide rate.
- Meter hours. Enforcement starts at 10 a.m. Base-rate meters run until 5 p.m., and premium-rate meters until 8 p.m.
- New paid and free blocks. Twelve downtown blocks switched to paid parking, and 11 blocks became free.
- Ramps. The first 90 minutes remain free in the Epic Center and Kalamazoo Mall parking ramps.
Paying
Paid blocks use multi-space kiosks that take coins, credit cards and debit cards. You can also pay with the ParkMobile app.
Accessible parking
The city plans to add dozens of new accessible (ADA) parking spaces downtown, on blocks that didn’t have them. They’ll be installed once curb improvements, like updated curb ramps, are finished.
A grace period started on April 1, so unpaid visitors could get a notice instead of a ticket.
Read the original release (opens in a new tab) from City of Kalamazoo.