COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus is creating a parking commission for the downtown area.
Columbus City Council passed the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday to create the Columbus Parking Commission. Ordinances require two readings to be approved. Mary Ferdon, executive director of administration and community development, said that assuming the ordinance is approved, the city hopes to have the commission up and running by April 1.
“Both the staff and some members of the council believe that there is a need to have a well-defined commission, which has some authority to oversee and coordinate a strategy for downtown parking policy, regulations, usage and enforcement,” she said. “And we truly do believe that good, well-enforced, strategic parking policy is critical to the vibrant economy that we want in our downtown area.”
According to the ordinance, parking in Columbus is currently governed “by a combination of city departments, ordinances and policies.” City bodies involved with this governance include the Columbus Police Department, the engineering department, the redevelopment commission and the board of works.
The ordinance stated that the creation of a parking commission was a major recommendation from a comprehensive parking study done in 2014. In 2016, there was a small group of city council members and community members who met regularly to discuss strategy on downtown parking policies, but this group had no authority to make any changes, Ferdon said.
The ordinance states that the parking commission “is to be an advocate for responsible city parking strategy and policies and will work with city staff to oversee a comprehensive, coordinated policy to provide available and accessible parking in the city’s downtown district for all users.”
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
