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    Residents to Weigh in on Short North Parking Ideas

    The City of Columbus has planned another round of public meetings about proposed changes to the way residents and visitors park in the Short North. An open house is scheduled for tonight at 5:30 p.m. at the Goodale Park Shelterhouse, and three more are planned in April.

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    The latest proposal, which is based on recommendations from 2014’s Short North Parking Study, calls for new Residential Permit Parking Zones. The idea is to standardize what is currently a hodgepodge of restrictions based on which blocks have, at some point, taken the initiative to gather signatures and establish a permit zone.

    Residents of each zone, after purchasing a permit, would be free to park anywhere in their particular zone. The price of a permit would start at $50 for a year, with additional options for visitor passes, as well as a limited number of business permits for employees.

    The new map also establishes a fixed paid zone, extending roughly a block to the east and west of High Street, from King Avenue to I-670. The proposed guidelines state that on-street parking within the paid zone “should be priced higher than private parking to create turnover for residents during peak demand hours.”

    The proposed changes in policy and the new residential zones represent the second prong in what the city has promised will be a multi-faceted strategy for tackling parking issues in the area.

    The first was the establishment of the Short North Special Parking Area, with fixed parking requirements for new development – any developer not meeting the requirements would would pay a fee of up to $20,000 per space. Those new rules will go into effect April 26 after being approved by City Council this week.

    The money raised from the fees will be funneled back into the neighborhood, used to “address parking supply and mobility issues,” according to the draft rules and regulations.

    Details of what exactly those funds will be used for – whether it’s a transit pass program like the one Capital Crossroads has proposed for downtown workers, or technological improvements meant to make parking easier and more efficient – are still being worked out by the city and the project’s working group, which is made up of residents and representatives of the many different neighborhood groups and commissions.

    For more information, see www.columbus.gov.

    Here are the times and locations of the upcoming open houses:

    March 30, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Goodale Park Shelterhouse, 120 W. Goodale St.

    April 4, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Junior Achievement, 68 E. Second Ave.

    April 11, 9 – 11 a.m., Le Meridien, The Joseph Hotel, 620 N. High St., 

    April 12, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave.

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    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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