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.”
The downtown parking area covered by the ordinance includes the area bordered by Brown Street to the west, Seventh Street to the north, Sycamore Street to the east and First Street to the south. The ordinance also states that the commission will not have jurisdiction over privately-owned parking lots or garages.
The commission’s duties include, but are not limited to:
Keeping an annual parking inventory that includes all available public spaces and assessing annual usage. An estimate of private parking spaces will also be included in the inventory.
Making recommendations on parking policy to the board of works
Working with the city engineer and the city’s ADA coordinator to “improve compliance pertaining to the number, design and location of accessible parking spaces.”
Ferdon added that the commission will not have authority to spend money but will instead make recommendations on fines, fees and other costs to the board of works, who will continue to approve “all parking-related expenses.”
The commission, which will meet at least once quarterly, will include the following members:
- City engineer or designee
- Police department representative
- Visitors center representative
- Redevelopment commission member or designee
- A “merchant owning and operating a business in the defined downtown parking area” (appointed by the mayor)
- An at-large member (appointed by the mayor)
- A member of city council
- A city resident who works in the “defined downtown parking area” (appointed by city council)
City council member Tom Dell said that it might be good for either the downtown merchant or worker appointee to also be someone who resides in the downtown area.
“Parking impacts them just as much as it impacts the people that are working and operating businesses up and down the street,” he said.
Mayor Jim Lienhoop suggested that they should leave this up to the judgement of the person or persons making the appointment.
In discussing the commission, Ferdon noted that downtown parking has shifted and changed due to the pandemic.
“We’re a little unsure what it’s going to look like in the next year or two, but at some point and time, the goal is to get it back to where people aren’t competing for parking spaces,” she said. “And so we don’t want to wait until that happens to develop a strategy.”
