03/17/2020- If Fincantieri Marinette Marine secures the Navy’s new frigate contract, they’re poised to bring hundreds more employees on board, which means hundreds more cars and an even more pressing need to find somewhere to park them all. This is not a new issue that FMM or the City of Marinette have been wrestling with and it’s led to strict parking restrictions near the shipyard and throughout Marinette’s downtown, but a new agency is now stepping in to help craft a solution. inVenture North has begun working with FMM to investigate both short and long-term options for parking and delivered a broad overview of that work to Marinette’s Civic Affairs Committee Monday. Mike Kunesh sits on the inVenture board and says the City’s involvement in the project will be critical for any future developments.
One preliminary suggestion from the work group is for the City to convert Ludington Street to only allow one-way traffic and create angled parking along it. Kunesh says that’s only a short-term solution, but could offer as many as 50 new parking spots. inVenture and FMM are said to be considering both surface level and parking ramp- style options, but did not specify which sites in the downtown they’ve been eyeing for that potential development.