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Parking Meters on High Street Downtown

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Started 1 year ago by News
Latest reply from ehill27

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futureman
Grandview Heights
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The quote from Liz Lessener in the article sums up why I'm for the new 130 meter spaces. The opponents of the plan I agree are short-sighted and not looking at the bigger picture of revitalizing downtown as a whole.

“If we really want Downtown to pop and be vibrant again, we have to add to the bustle,” she said. “I’m a native of Chicago and I spent a lot of time in San Francisco and it’s totally normal and safe to have buses, cars, bicycles, pedestrians and scooters, all sharing the same street.”

No Parking: Not everyone thinks High Street parking meters are a great idea
Posted on August 9, 2012
by Melissa Dilley
The Other Paper

Andrew Neutzling was highly motivated by, of all things, a Facebook post that appeared in his news feed early last week.

By Wednesday, Aug. 1, he’d founded the People’s Department of Transportation of Central Ohio (PDOT), created a Facebook page for the activist group and made calls to everyone he knew to recruit members. He was going to need as much support for PDOT as possible by Thursday.

What was the rush to create a group to represent the common man in the local transportation planning arena?

The announcement that provided the impetus for Neutzling’s new organization came after Columbus’s Public Service Department announced that it would hold a public meeting Aug. 2 to unveil plans for creating 130 new parking spots along High Street from Goodale Avenue to Mound Street—a stretch from roughly the I-670 Cap, past the Convention Center, through Downtown to the Brewery District.

READ MORE: http://www.theotherpaper.com/news/article_08ad93a0-e24b-11e1-b664-001a4bcf887a.html

Posted 9 months ago #
Polis

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Does anyone have examples of this working? I'm not against more parking Downtown, but I don't really think this particular effort will "solve" anything. Personally, I don't avoid Downtown because of lack of parking on High St., not much is on High St.

I think putting parking on High St. is short sighted to be honest. Both the opponents and proponents have poor alternatives, IMO.

Posted 9 months ago #
futureman
Grandview Heights
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If anything it's an inexpensive way to try out parking on High St without the high cost of major road construction and if it proves to be a problem it could easily be removed.

Honestly I think it will have a minimal impact on COTA and cyclists. Most of the major "line up" areas for the buses are being preserved, in addition no parking is being allowed during rush hour. If cyclists have issues with High St they could use Front St which will mostly be converted back to two way traffic (N of Broad coming soon).

Posted 9 months ago #
Polis

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"Try out parking"? Sure, parking will "work" because people will be diverted to 4th/3rd streets if congestion begins to occur. The issue isn't the congestion or operations on-street it's that I don't think this will work to help any businesses along High St. It's not serving the breakfast/lunch places really, because it's off-peak only and most off-peak businesses aren't located on High St. right now.

I know it's one part of the Downtown plan, but, to me, it would seem more intelligent to further development at off-main thoroughfare nodes like Gay Street and 3rd area. Places that have off-hour businesses already have people there already. In places like Downtown, having disconnected off-hour businesses (Barrio, for example) hurts the vitality of the entire district.

It's taking a main thoroughfare and re-purposing it to something it's not, a narrow (2-3 lane) street with parking.

Btw my estimated cost, using 2011 numbers with small inflation, is going to be around $70-80k for the meters, not too bad.

Posted 9 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Polis said:
Does anyone have examples of this working?

The Short North.

Polis said:
It's taking a main thoroughfare and re-purposing it to something it's not, a narrow (2-3 lane) street with parking.

But does High Street need to be a thoroughfare Downtown? You've got one way roads like Third and Fourth that are designed to move people in and out of Downtown as quickly as possible. Does High Street need to be more of the same?

It's certainly not a thoroughfare in the Short North or at OSU or even in some of Old North Columbus or Clintonville. If you're looking to drive longer distances in a hurry, you take other roads or highways, you don't take High Street.

Posted 9 months ago #
jbcmh81

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Walker said:
The Short North.

But does High Street need to be a thoroughfare Downtown? You've got one way roads like Third and Fourth that are designed to move people in and out of Downtown as quickly as possible. Does High Street need to be more of the same?

It's certainly not a thoroughfare in the Short North or at OSU or even in some of Old North Columbus or Clintonville. If you're looking to drive longer distances in a hurry, you take other roads or highways, you don't take High Street.

It's at least someone ironic that Columbus' best neighborhoods are those that you can't really get in an out easily and parking is not always readily available. I really don't see why Downtown should not be one of the city's best neighborhoods and why there is such a strong need to escape it as fast as possible.

Posted 9 months ago #
joshlapp
Short North
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jbcmh81 said:
It's at least someone ironic that Columbus' best neighborhoods are those that you can't really get in an out easily and parking is not always readily available. I really don't see why Downtown should not be one of the city's best neighborhoods and why there is such a strong need to escape it as fast as possible.

I don't think its irony. Its both a consequent of design and popularity. Adding parking to High Street will make it both safer and more pedestrian friendly. This is likely to spur more retail IMO. You are also likely to see more al fresco dining when there aren't buses and traffic adjacent to the sidewalk.

Posted 9 months ago #
Polis

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Short North is a different animal than Downtown. High St. in the Short North has pretty much always been for more residential and commerce (non-office) purposes, even when it experienced decline it was primarily supporting residential land uses. (I'm including the surrounding areas rather than what is technically the Short North)

Retail thrives with people near by, and in the case of the Short North, a node (or rather a line) of activity grew over time, attracting people, increasing parking demand. But the foundation was residences, that is why gentrifying neighborhoods experience retail/restaurant development; usually within a stone's throw of each other, the people are there to support it.

Downtown is not like this. It is based on offices and has developed into a region supporting such activity. If you want to change it, putting in parking, when there are gobs of parking already, isn't a solution. Take the $70k or whatever the cost is, and help a business start up or offer the one of the dozens of parking lots to put in meters, perhaps with some subsidy, such as enforcement assistance. Do something substantial. Grow the nodes already in place, success breeds success, especially in the case of retail and restaurants/bars.

Yes, High Street does need to be a thoroughfare, unfortunately, it's easy to navigate and so many side streets interact with it. The proof is in the model ran by the city, parking does not work during peak. Re-purposing a street has to be done on a much greater scale than parking.

Maybe when Front St. becomes two ways something different can happen but I really do not see this influencing businesses one way or the other.

Posted 9 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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jbcmh81 said:
It's at least someone ironic that Columbus' best neighborhoods are those that you can't really get in an out easily and parking is not always readily available.

I don't think it's ironic. I'd say that the best neighborhoods in any city are probably less likely to be ones equipped with wide fast roads and large surface parking lots.

Posted 9 months ago #
Polis

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It's not ironic at all, in fact it makes perfect sense.

Posted 9 months ago #
jbcmh81

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joshlapp said:
I don't think its irony. Its both a consequent of design and popularity. Adding parking to High Street will make it both safer and more pedestrian friendly. This is likely to spur more retail IMO. You are also likely to see more al fresco dining when there aren't buses and traffic adjacent to the sidewalk.

That was my point. I see a lot of people on this thread who seem to mainly be concerned about how fast they can leave Downtown. This to me is at least some indication of Downtown's overall image and how slowing down traffic on High, etc. would end up providing a lot more reasons to stay.

Posted 9 months ago #
jbcmh81

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Polis said:
Short North is a different animal than Downtown. High St. in the Short North has pretty much always been for more residential and commerce (non-office) purposes, even when it experienced decline it was primarily supporting residential land uses. (I'm including the surrounding areas rather than what is technically the Short North)

Retail thrives with people near by, and in the case of the Short North, a node (or rather a line) of activity grew over time, attracting people, increasing parking demand. But the foundation was residences, that is why gentrifying neighborhoods experience retail/restaurant development; usually within a stone's throw of each other, the people are there to support it.

Downtown is not like this. It is based on offices and has developed into a region supporting such activity. If you want to change it, putting in parking, when there are gobs of parking already, isn't a solution. Take the $70k or whatever the cost is, and help a business start up or offer the one of the dozens of parking lots to put in meters, perhaps with some subsidy, such as enforcement assistance. Do something substantial. Grow the nodes already in place, success breeds success, especially in the case of retail and restaurants/bars.

Yes, High Street does need to be a thoroughfare, unfortunately, it's easy to navigate and so many side streets interact with it. The proof is in the model ran by the city, parking does not work during peak. Re-purposing a street has to be done on a much greater scale than parking.

Maybe when Front St. becomes two ways something different can happen but I really do not see this influencing businesses one way or the other.

Why does it have to be one or the other? There are plenty of cities with downtowns that support residential, retail and commercial activity.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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It's great all the attention is being paid on how to move people by car. I'm headed out tonight to the SN and would love to take COTA and probably will. $2 bucks sure as hell beats feeding the meter, paying the valet or wasting 20 minutes finding an open spot. The only problem is that if you don't live in proximity to the Holy High Street, you're screwed on coming home any later than Midnight. I get that meters can create turnover and understand their importance to the greater good. But the absence of other options means I'll probably end up paying $16 for a cab that could be better spent lining the pocket of a local bar.

Posted 9 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Polis said:
Short North is a different animal than Downtown.

It's a different animal because it was intentionally turned into a bus transit mall, on-street parking was removed, and retail declined. It hasn't been that way for the entire history of Downtown's existence, only the past few decades. Prior to that, Downtown had a residential population and a retail vibrancy that was greater than the Short North. We can bring it back.

Of course, on street parking alone isn't going to bring it back. But that is one factor (of many) that can help retailers.

Posted 9 months ago #
byJody
Rural NW Columbus
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Although I am a bike advocate, I also care about Columbus as a whole. The city is using Congestion Mitigation funding to take out the Main St Dam. Those funds could be better used in creating bicycle treatments and actually mitigate congestion, but removing the dam is good for the river and will benefit the city in the long run. I feel the same about the High St meters, yes if I only cared about bikes then I'd say f the retailers, no meters and close the street to all but bikes! However, that is not the current reality. If bikes and buses were delivering enough business to this corridor, the storefronts would be thriving. So if 130 meters gives the perception that these storefronts are more accessible, that can be the catalyst to get these places leased out. Maybe I've lost the battle but won the war. If Columbus is improved as a whole, then it is good for all Columbus citizens, including the ones who ride bikes. It really doesn't matter if there IS enough parking, it's the perception that there is not nearby parking that is keeping these places vacant. And just because it's full of motor vehicles now, if we get it vibrant again, maybe it will turn into a plaza full of energy, closed to Motor Vehicles, but we can't get there without some in between steps. The status quo is not working. // Now I will say, Sharrows painted in the Door Zone are not a good idea. The street is getting repaved next year and will have bike treatments painted then. I am hoping there can be discussion on an alternative to door zone sharrows. My ideal would be back in parking (ie North St near Dodridge) with a bike lane painted in front of it. Or a buffered bike lane between the parked cars and the curb. And GREEN PAINT! This thing is going to need to be tweaked as it unfolds.

Posted 9 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Well said, Jody. ;)

Posted 9 months ago #
bucki12
wp
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lifeontwowheels said:
It's great all the attention is being paid on how to move people by car. I'm headed out tonight to the SN and would love to take COTA and probably will. $2 bucks sure as hell beats feeding the meter, paying the valet or wasting 20 minutes finding an open spot. The only problem is that if you don't live in proximity to the Holy High Street, you're screwed on coming home any later than Midnight. I get that meters can create turnover and understand their importance to the greater good. But the absence of other options means I'll probably end up paying $16 for a cab that could be better spent lining the pocket of a local bar.

Everything has to start somewhere...

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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bucki12 said:
Everything has to start somewhere...

Which is why we are mired in mediocrity. I get why we need the need meters and yes we need a holistic approach that incorporates all modes but this really does present as a greatly missed opportunity. Businesses are popping up off High St. through downtown with the same issues-connectivity and parking, the perceptions people are talking about. This may be a great first step but I only see the meters furthering the "get in, get out" mentality that already exists.

Posted 9 months ago #
byJody
Rural NW Columbus
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lifeontwowheels said:
Which is why we are mired in mediocrity. I get why we need the need meters and yes we need a holistic approach that incorporates all modes but this really does present as a greatly missed opportunity. Businesses are popping up off High St. through downtown with the same issues-connectivity and parking, the perceptions people are talking about. This may be a great first step but I only see the meters furthering the "get in, get out" mentality that already exists.

What is the missed opportunity?

Posted 9 months ago #
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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lifeontwowheels said:
This may be a great first step but I only see the meters furthering the "get in, get out" mentality that already exists.

There is already plenty of surface and garage parking for the hang out and stay awhile crowd. Not really seeing your point.

Posted 9 months ago #