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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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hugh59
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Last time I went downtown for an event, I parked a long way away from the center of action. Sadly, the meters had been changed and were enforced till 10:00 pm. I forgot to check since the last time I had parked there they were not so enforced. $25 gone. Every other car there had a ticket too. I think the city earns more from tickets than from meter revenues for that group of meters.

This just makes me less likely to frequent locations downtown. The city spends $2 million on an emergency bike share program but it can't find $50,000 to pay for a feasibility study for four small business incubators. This stupidity makes me angry.

Posted 6 months ago #
Rockmastermike
The Bacon District
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Neutzy said:
Maybe the biggest contributor to the other cities' success isn't so much a lack of on-street parking, but a presence of serious public transportation investment. Unfortunately, Columbus has never made a serious investment in public transportation. When COTA's "transit mall" was created 20+ years ago the city wasn't willing to make a serious investment in public transportation. That would have entailed taking away too much road space from private motorists.

Right. If you're going to do a "transit mall" you have to go all in and do something like what Denver did with the previously cited 16th Street project.

-No cars
-One lane road reserved for buses in each direction the rest is pedestrian/business/greenspace.
-Buses are free on the street for anyone to ride, and they circulate frequently ONLY up and down 16th street so you can park in one of the garages or nearby streets and quickly and easily skate on the free bus anywhere on the strip you want to go.
-The buses are significantly quieter than the ones COTA uses. I cannot remember how they are fueled but they were sweet. I would advocate overhead electrical lines for efficiency of operation but that's NOT what they do there in Denver.

Its a busy, flourishing, strip day and night, and its fun and easy for everyone.

Short of doing ALL of that, its best just to leave it as a basic street. Including on street parking and everything else that a real city street has.

Posted 6 months ago #
bucki12
wp
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hugh59 said:
Last time I went downtown for an event, I parked a long way away from the center of action. Sadly, the meters had been changed and were enforced till 10:00 pm. I forgot to check since the last time I had parked there they were not so enforced. $25 gone. Every other car there had a ticket too. I think the city earns more from tickets than from meter revenues for that group of meters.

This just makes me less likely to frequent locations downtown. The city spends $2 million on an emergency bike share program but it can't find $50,000 to pay for a feasibility study for four small business incubators. This stupidity makes me angry.

Yeah, I have my share of tickets downtown. I realize that it is my fault for not minding the meter, but it is really easy for time to slip especially when you are at a downtown bar or restaurant. I am not defending myself. I am just agreeing with the post ticket angst.

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Rockmastermike said:
Short of doing ALL of that, its best just to leave it as a basic street. Including on street parking and everything else that a real city street has.

+1

Also, I don't really see High Street in Columbus and the 16th Street Mall in Denver as being apples and oranges either, as the 16th Street Mall is only a mile long and is a non-artery street running through Downtown Denver. In function, Gay Street might be more comparable.

Posted 6 months ago #
Rockmastermike
The Bacon District
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Walker said:
+1

Also, I don't really see High Street in Columbus and the 16th Street Mall in Denver as being apples and oranges either, as the 16th Street Mall is only a mile long and is a non-artery street running through Downtown Denver. In function, Gay Street might be more comparable.

Probly right about that. 16th is about as wide as gay street too. Not like the monster that is high.

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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hugh59 said: Last time I went downtown for an event, I parked a long way away from the center of action. Sadly, the meters had been changed and were enforced till 10:00 pm. I forgot to check since the last time I had parked there they were not so enforced. $25 gone. Every other car there had a ticket too. I think the city earns more from tickets than from meter revenues for that group of meters. This just makes me less likely to frequent locations downtown.

Getting a ticket sucks, but its an issue between you personally and the City of Columbus, right? Why threaten to punish small business owners Downtown as an outcome of that?

Posted 6 months ago #
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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I usually tell my friends that don't live downtown to park at the surface lots when heading downtown for dinner and drinks. Too many bad experiences with them getting tickets when they did not read times or put enough in the meter. Personally I think the meters are a nice addition, but I clearly understand how people see downtown parking as a disadvantage.

An anecdote is that when I would meet up with a group of friends one kept pushing for the Buckeye Hall of Fame grill in the Yard. I thought he really liked the place, but later his girlfriend told me he prefered it because he didn't like parking in the SN or AD. I am not sure how prevalent that mentality is or how hard it will be to overcome.

Posted 6 months ago #
johnwirtz
Glenview, IL
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Walker said:
I doubt that's the only reason they work.

The Downtown Columbus transit corridor on High Street has been unblocked by on-street parking for 20 years and it wasn't working out well for retailers...

I doubt parking is the only reason downtown retail wasn't working.

Posted 6 months ago #
johnwirtz
Glenview, IL
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Rockmastermike said:
Right. If you're going to do a "transit mall" you have to go all in and do something like what Denver did with the previously cited 16th Street project.

-No cars
-One lane road reserved for buses in each direction the rest is pedestrian/business/greenspace.
-Buses are free on the street for anyone to ride, and they circulate frequently ONLY up and down 16th street so you can park in one of the garages or nearby streets and quickly and easily skate on the free bus anywhere on the strip you want to go.
-The buses are significantly quieter than the ones COTA uses. I cannot remember how they are fueled but they were sweet. I would advocate overhead electrical lines for efficiency of operation but that's NOT what they do there in Denver.

Its a busy, flourishing, strip day and night, and its fun and easy for everyone.

Short of doing ALL of that, its best just to leave it as a basic street. Including on street parking and everything else that a real city street has.

Agree with most of this, but also agree that some solution to benefit downtown transit needs to be discussed

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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johnwirtz said:
I doubt parking is the only reason downtown retail wasn't working.

I agree. Wasn't arguing that it was the only reason. But it is one reason, and an important one for certain types of retail. Talk to Mark Swanson at Cup O Joe about the difference in customer accessibility between his Downtown store with zero meters and his Short North store with meters.

Posted 6 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Walker said:
I agree. Wasn't arguing that it was the only reason. But it is one reason, and an important one for certain types of retail. Talk to Mark Swanson at Cup O Joe about the difference in customer accessibility between his Downtown store with zero meters and his Short North store with meters.

Can you really say meters are the issue? The SN location benefits from being in an established, nationally acclaimed neighborhood and destination. You have the convention center pushing traffic up, hotels and residents. Downtown MoJoe is in an area still on the edge of popping, the foot traffic from the commons garage is probably heading south to the courthouse complex and anybody at Broad and High has Caribou, Enstein, Tim's or Brioso much, much closer.

Posted 6 months ago #
Rockmastermike
The Bacon District
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johnwirtz said:
Agree with most of this, but also agree that some solution to benefit downtown transit needs to be discussed

transit needs improved city wide. there is no doubt about that. This is not going to change much there.

Frankly until we get *serious* and decide to really do something major and city wide about transit planning we're always going to be having this discussion about small marginal changes like this, to little effect.

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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lifeontwowheels said:
Can you really say meters are the issue? The SN location benefits from being in an established, nationally acclaimed neighborhood and destination. You have the convention center pushing traffic up, hotels and residents. Downtown MoJoe is in an area still on the edge of popping, the foot traffic from the commons garage is probably heading south to the courthouse complex and anybody at Broad and High has Caribou, Enstein, Tim's or Brioso much, much closer.

I didn't say it's *the* issue, but I am saying it is an important one for certain types of retail where easy in-and-out access is required by a sizable amount of the customer base. And I'm not saying that based on my own personal preferences, I'm saying that based on what I've heard straight from the mouths of local retailers.

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Rockmastermike said:
Frankly until we get *serious* and decide to really do something major and city wide about transit planning we're always going to be having this discussion about small marginal changes like this, to little effect.

Major city-wide transit planning would be great. But don't let the idea of something big and grandiose (and imaginary at this point) negate the value of a smaller project. Which is really more of a test/pilot project. Which Columbus should be doing a lot more of.

Posted 6 months ago #
susank

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When I am at the office I am not moving my car until I leave for the day. That makes the places within walking distance the places that get my business. On the way in it is convenience that dictates my coffee/breakfast urges. From what I understand those meters aren't available during the morning commute?

Posted 6 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Walker said:
I didn't say it's *the* issue, but I am saying it is an important one for certain types of retail where easy in-and-out access is required by a sizable amount of the customer base. And I'm not saying that based on my own personal preferences, I'm saying that based on what I've heard straight from the mouths of local retailers.

No, I get that meters are beneficial. I'm just pointing out that there's a lot going on besides meters with the specific example cited. And last I checked there may not be meters on High in front of Downtown COJ but there certainly are plenty on the side streets surrounding. Probably pretty comparable given how far I've walked from Goodale Park meters.

Honestly, their Bexley location with free parking and a small lot is more frustrating as a customer because my exceptions are greater.

Posted 6 months ago #
joshlapp
Short North
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Myself and my coworkers in my office frequent Brioso (2-3 times a week) but as our office is just outside downtown we almost always drive and park. I also frequent the Jimmy Johns on front street. Without the meters nearby I would never go. Not that people like me make up the bulk of the market but we could be a significant share. More close short term parking can only help businesses.

Posted 5 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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joshlapp said:
Myself and my coworkers in my office frequent Brioso (2-3 times a week) but as our office is just outside downtown we almost always drive and park. I also frequent the Jimmy Johns on front street. Without the meters nearby I would never go. Not that people like me make up the bulk of the market but we could be a significant share. More close short term parking can only help businesses.

I'm not saying that meters are bad, just pointing out that in walker's specific example there is a lot more at play.

Posted 5 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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lifeontwowheels said:
Last I checked there may not be meters on High in front of Downtown COJ...

They were just added on Monday. ;)

http://www.columbusunderground.com/downtown-high-street-parking-meters-installed

lifeontwowheels said:
...but there certainly are plenty on the side streets surrounding.

There's none on Town right around the corner, but you can go a block further south to maybe find one open on Rich. Or circle around to park a block or more away on Front or State.

Which might be an ok solution for someone like you or me who's willing to go out of our way to buy coffee from a local shop, but I guarantee that there are plenty of people who would not see parking right in front and decide it's not worth the trouble. We already hear this constantly with customers in the Short North complaining that parking is too hard and not worth the trip.

Not that I think that mindset needs to be overly accommodated. But if there's room for meters on High Street directly in front of retail spaces, then I don't see the problem with adding them and helping businesses out. It's a win for the businesses, it's a win for customers who want parking meters, and it's a win for customers who don't need parking meters as the businesses they love will continue to get more business and keep them thriving.

Posted 5 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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lifeontwowheels said:
I'm not saying that meters are bad, just pointing out that in walker's specific example there is a lot more at play.

I never said there wasn't more at play.

In fact, I think I've said two or three times now that parking meters are just one of several issues for retail businesses.

So I'm not sure why you're still arguing with me about something I'm not saying.

Posted 5 months ago #