Discussions about downtown parking options will continue on Tuesday.
The Columbus Parking Commission will meet at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday in Conference Room 3 of Columbus City Hall. The room is located upstairs between Community Development and the mayor’s office.
The agenda includes continued discussion of parking pay stations, Columbus Redevelopment Commission parking fees and regulations and a downtown wayfinding proposal.
Columbus City Councilman and Parking Commission Chairman Tom Dell said the meeting will include continued discussion of how to move forward with parking recommendations for downtown, such as whether to implement paid parking or go with a system that’s more similar to what’s in place (albeit with some modifications).
“We need to move forward with where we think we need to go as far as how we’re enforcing and getting turnover within the parking on the street, and that’s really what the commission is responsible for,” said Dell.
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 redevelopment commission.
The parking commission discussed a 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).
The commission met again in September but did not reach a consensus on how to move forward with downtown parking recommendations.
