Today marks the first day of implementation for the long-awaited and long-debated Short North Parking Plan. The bags have been removed from new parking signs throughout the neighborhood and tickets will be issued — although no fines will be associated with those tickets for at least two weeks, according to the city.
The warning tickets are meant to educate residents and visitors who may not have heard about the many changes being rolled out in the area, which stretches north to south from East Ninth Avenue to I-670 and east to west from North Sixth Street to Neil Avenue.
The biggest change is that the free parking that was previously available on non-permit residential streets is now gone. All residents in the district are required to get permits to park on the street, and visitors will need to pay to park via the new ParkColumbus app.
When the city’s Assistant Director for Parking Services, Robert Ferrin, spoke to Columbus Underground last spring about the rollout of the new rules, he stressed that they will likely be updated and changed as time goes by, in response to use.
“The Short North will never be ‘done,’” he said. “We will use data to monitor, and we’ll make changes to meet a goal of on-street occupancy of 60 to 80 percent, and we’ll do it every three months – we’re not going to just put it in and walk away.”
Also starting today is a new late-night shuttle for Short North employees. Designed to facilitate the use of Downtown parking garages, it will run six nights a week — Monday through Saturday — from 10 p.m to 3 a.m.
The idea is that workers can either walk or take COTA’s free CBUS circulator north at the beginning of their shift, and then take the shuttle back Downtown after hours.
“Workers who are pre-registered are able to use an app to call for a ride on-demand when they are ready to return to where their vehicle is parked Downtown,” said Betsy Pandora, Executive Director of the Short North Alliance, who added that over 350 employees have already signed up for the shuttle.
The service is being managed by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and operated by Yellow Cab Columbus and EmpowerBus.
For more information on the Short North Parking Plan, visit www.columbus.gov.