43
Youngstown officials discuss changes to downtown parking
YOUNGSTOWN
Changes are coming to downtown parking, particularly along East and West Federal streets, that would increase the number of meters – and possible prices.
But during an initial discussion Tuesday among city council members and administration officials, little was resolved except that the changes would be decided before the end of the year.
The administration recommended that parking along Federal from Fifth Avenue to Commerce Street should cost $2 an hour. Some council members backed that amount while others suggested $1 or $1.50.
“The idea is to create parking turnover so we can get people in and out of downtown,” said Mark D’Apolito, an assistant law director overseeing the administration’s parking proposal. “People need to find a spot, have lunch and leave in an effective manner.”
Currently there are some spots on the street with no meters, with $1 an hour in front of 20 Federal Place being the most expensive on the street.
“People who come down here and get tickets because their lunch takes more than an hour don’t come back,” said Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th. “We’re missing out on a lot of people coming here.”
Parking on Federal should be restricted to an hour, said Michael McGiffin, coordinator of downtown events and special projects for the city.
Also, the city would consider buying about eight to 10 electronic parking meters that would allow people to use cash, a debit card or credit card to pay for parking on Federal, D’Apolito said.
The city would take the meters along Federal that it no longer would need and put them elsewhere downtown so that every spot would have a meter, D’Apolito said.
While Councilman Nate Pinkard, D-3rd, wants to see changes, he said, “The problem is enforcement. Without proper enforcement, it’s not worth anything.”
The restrictions and potential increased cost for meters on Federal hopefully would get people to park on side streets, where the cost of metered parking would be cheaper, McGiffin said.
There also would be 15-minute meters for those who live downtown and need to bring in groceries, for example, to their apartments, D’Apolito said.
Free parking also was a topic of discussion Tuesday with D’Apolito suggesting it begin after 6 p.m. on weekdays and possibly Saturdays.
Council members said they didn’t support the use of parking meters downtown on weekends, which is what currently exists.
Some members of council said free parking should start at 5 p.m., the existing time, while others backed the 6 p.m. time.
The administration proposal also calls for increased fees – equivalent to what the cost would be on Federal – on West Boardman Street across from city hall, and on East Boardman Street between South Walnut and South Champion streets by Eastern Gateway Community College, D’Apolito said.
The city has no plans to convert parallel parking spots into angled ones downtown because there isn’t room for them on the streets, D’Apolito said.
Also, the city may add metered parking by The Vindicator on Vindicator Square between West Front and West Boardman streets, he said.