Lapeer denies Steel Patriots Friday-night bike event, cites downtown construction and parking impact

The Lapeer City Commission voted Dec. 1 to deny the Steel Patriots’ application for recurring Friday-night bike nights in downtown Lapeer as it was submitted, citing the likely impact on streets and the city’s primary parking lot during an overlapping construction project.

Commissioner Linda Glisman moved to deny the application; the motion was seconded and the commission debated reasons to deny or to provide guidance for a revised submission. City staff pointed to Section 52‑5 of the city code, which lists grounds for denying a special-event application, and recommended the city cite the anticipated interference with public use of streets and parking lots as the principal rationale.

Commissioners raised concerns that the larger downtown parking lot would be incapacitated for a prolonged period during construction and that on‑street parking and traffic patterns would be significantly affected; staff confirmed they had not calculated a precise percentage of parking displaced but said the larger of two downtown lots would be 'basically incapacitated' for the duration of the work.

The motion to deny (as presented) carried on roll call. City staff stated they were willing to go back to the event organizers to relay the commission’s concerns and to negotiate a revised application if the group proposed changes that addressed parking, traffic and construction timing.

What this means: The denial applies to the application as submitted; a future, revised application could be considered if it addresses the commission’s concerns about parking and construction impact.