Paid parking is coming to downtown Columbus. Have your say at this public meeting
Columbus residents can soon have their say on paid parking stations coming to downtown Columbus.
A public meeting will be held from 6-7 p.m. at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center’s (801 Front Ave.) South Hall on March 2. The public is invited to listen to updates and provide input on the future of downtown Columbus parking. The meeting also will be filmed for a later broadcast on CCG-TV.
Deputy City Manager Lisa Goodwin, the Columbus METRA Parking Division and parking committee representatives will be on hand to answer questions. A short presentation will be given followed by a Q&A session.
“For this public meeting on Tuesday, we want to come in and share with the public where we are at this point,” Goodwin told the Ledger-Enquirer. “And then garner any comments from (the public).”
Even though parking meters in the city were eliminated some years ago, the idea of bringing a system back has continued to be a topic of discussion, especially as the downtown area has grown and developed.
But the city is not looking at space-by-space parking meters like those that previously stood downtown, Goodwin said. Instead, it’s looking at mid-block pay stations.
“You’d pull up into the space, go up to the (station), put in your information, get your ticket and then place that on your windshield or above your dash inside your vehicle for the enforcement officer to see that the time is not expired,” Goodwin said.
After the public has the opportunity to provide input, the group will present their findings to Columbus Council. They plan to bring a recommendation to the council March 23 regarding which vendor they’ve chosen to supply the pay stations.
There are no plans to implement the pay stations until January 2022, Goodwin said. That will give the group time to run an “aggressive education campaign,” she said, and start issuing warning tickets next January.
“We want to be able to start in January with just a warning ticket,” Goodwin said. “Before we’re able to ‘go live,’ if you will.”
Why install pay stations?
An internal audit report of the METRA department, which manages the uptown parking enforcement area, was presented to the council in September 2019 and reignited the council’s interest in installing meters, the Ledger-Enquirer previously reported.
The audit stated the current parking system causes harm to uptown businesses and their patrons. The source of the conflict is employees, city staff have said, who often park in front of the businesses they work at instead of in one of the area’s free parking decks, essentially taking away parking options for potential patrons of the businesses and causing them to shop elsewhere.
In February 2019, uptown business owners told the Ledger-Enquirer that customers had complained about not being able to find parking and the subsequent decrease in sales, while employees complained about harsh enforcement.
Goodwin hopes the implementation of pay stations helps resolve those issues. Employees will be free to go back and “feed the meter” all day, but that would cost more than parking in one of the free garages.
“This will help with that situation,” Goodwin said.
The current timed parking zones often result in tickets of $40 for drivers who don’t move their vehicles within the time allotted.
The downtown parking area goes from Bay Avenue to Third Avenue and from Ninth Street to 14th Street. On-street parking encompasses 1,634 total spaces where time zones are enforced.
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 3:05 PM.
