Illustration by Tabitha Walters
“Briarwood is now charging a parking fee for premium spaces—20 feet closer to the doors!” a poster wrote on nextdoor.com. “Really? A rip off!”
Sure enough, the mall has introduced “Up Front Plus Parking,” setting aside some spaces closest to the entrance for customers willing to cough up $5.50 for 24 hours of added convenience.
Occupying eleven parking spots in the southeast lot by JCPenney and five spots in front of the southwest entrance near Eddie Bauer, the designated spaces are highlighted by signs instructing visitors to “scan to pay after you park.” A QR code takes them to the parkwhiz.com website to provide their plate number, state, and phone number.
Related: A Parking Glut?
Helen’s Lot
The new parking model also shifts disability parking one row away from the entrances.
The signs warn that payment is “required and strictly enforced.” A call to the mall office confirms that security guards patrol them, and vehicles parked without payment can be towed by Sakstrup’s Towing. Sakstrup’s says its tow fees range from $245 to $335, depending on the vehicle’s make, model, and size.
A few other malls around the country have introduced paid parking, including Northgate in Seattle and Stamford Town Center in Stamford, Connecticut, where valet parking costs $9. Another online company, AirGarage, rents spaces in a few Ann Arbor lots, enforcing violations by suction-cupping a yellow plastic barrier over the offender’s windshield (“Barnacled!” June 2021). But those lots are all close to campus, where parking is perpetually at a premium. Is a struggling regional mall, where a long-vacant Sears store was recently demolished to make way for a mixed-use redevelopment, really in the same category?
Mall management didn’t respond to the Observer’s questions, but Briarwood shoppers appear to agree with the Nextdoor poster: During three visits, not a single paid space was occupied—and free ones were abundant just a few feet away.
Related: A New Era at Briarwood
A Trio of Changes at Briarwood
What a pathetic money-making scheme. Imagine pushing disabled shoppers further back just so that non-disabled people with money to burn can buy themselves a closer parking spot. Yet another reason to do your shopping on Amazon and let Briarwood continue to lose patronage.