Council votes to eliminate 12th Street parking at courthouse
Columbus Council agreed today a U.S. Marshals Service request to eliminate on-street parking in front of the U.S. Federal Courthouse/Post Office on 12th Street.
The USMS contacted the city and asked that the parking be eliminated so as to move the curbside out into 12th Street to make the federal building farther from the street. Federal regulations now state that a courthouse should be 50 feet from the fronting roadway, and the courthouse is now only about 40 feet from the 12th Street curb. Removing the parking would extend that to 46 feet, according to city documents presented to council.
The ordinance will eliminate the five parallel parking spaces in front of the courthouse. The spaces currently have 15-minute limits.
The change is part of an ongoing U.S. Courthouse and Post Office security renovation program.
Council can hold a second reading and a vote on the ordinance at next Tuesday’s special called work session.
Council’s vote was 6-3, with councilors Tom Buck, Judy Thomas and Glenn Davis voting against it.
This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Council votes to eliminate 12th Street parking at courthouse."