The Columbus Parking Commission hopes to discuss potential changes to the city’s current parking ordinance at its November meeting.
During the group’s Oct. 18 session, commission members concluded that they should spend more time examining the ordinance prior to their next meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 10 at 2:15 p.m. in the Cal Brand Meeting Room at City Hall. An agenda has yet to be released.
Columbus City Councilman and commission chairman Tom Dell emphasized the importance of making a plan for the future, as the city’s current enforcement equipment for on-street parking is “at the end of its life cycle” and is no longer supported by the vendor. Therefore, if the parking commission decides to adopt paid parking or stick with something similar to the current system, the city would need new equipment either way.
“At some point, we’ve got to move forward with something, because the system we have now is a glitch away from being back to paper and pencil,” said Dell.
Additionally, new devices could present a solution to an ongoing issue. Commission members have noted how under the current system, someone could park for less than three hours, be noted by an enforcement official during their rounds, leave, come back later in the day, and be charged with a ticket as if they’d been there the whole time. Dell said it’s possible that new equipment could solve this problem.
However, he added that the commission likely needs a specific plan in mind before sending out a Request for Proposals.
After some discussion, commission member Jeff Baker suggested that the group take some time to study the current parking ordinance and come back to their next session with ideas for changes. The other members concurred.
Commission officials have said in the past that any recommendations they settle on for downtown parking will likely go to Columbus City Council for approval, as well as possibly the Columbus Board of Works and/or the Columbus Redevelopment Commission.
“If this group is able to sort of come up with a consensus of what an ordinance or ordinance adjustments might look like, then either I or (parking commission attorney) Michael DeArmitt could put together a draft ordinance that would, could be considered by this group but then would ultimately end up going through the Ordinance Review Committee for vetting and prior to eventual presentation to Board of Works — and city council, if there’s going to be a change in the ordinance,” said attorney Alex Whitted.
The parking commission discussed a rough draft of parking recommendations at its August meeting, including proposed rates and policies for paid parking. However, the proposal was criticized by two downtown merchants who expressed concern about its impact on their businesses and the success of downtown.
The suggested rates were $1 per hour for the first three hours, $5 per hour for the fourth and fifth hour, and $10 per hour for hours six through nine (with enforcement times of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays).
A couple of individuals, including Viewpoint Books owner Beth Stroh, also voiced their worries about paid parking at the board’s Oct. 18 meeting.
While Stroh agreed that there are issues with the current parking system, she feels that meters are not the way to go.
“I don’t believe that instituting parking in downtown — parking fees in downtown right now is going to help,” she said. “I think that the recommendations that have been made were based on a time when thousands more people were downtown everyday, and when paying a fine was a deterrent to employees parking all day. Now parking spots and even storefronts — which should give us an idea of what’s happening — are readily available. This is not the time to start charging customers to come to our stores and restaurants.”
Stroh suggested that rather than investing in new equipment, the city should see what happens “if parking is free for a while” and examine whether or not turnover is still a problem.
Commission member and Bartholomew County Public Library Director Jason Hatton also expressed some doubt as to whether parking availability is still a major issue in downtown Columbus.
“There’s pre-pandemic and there’s post-pandemic, right?” he said. “And pre-pandemic, I think this issue was a lot hotter and a lot more pressing than it is post-pandemic. And I think that’s, to me, what I feel we need to weigh a little heavier in terms of does that problem that we really were trying to solve — does it still exist?”
