Last month it was announced that parking meters throughout the urban core of Columbus were being considered for a 50% rate hike. Randy Bowman, the Administrator of the city’s Division of Mobility Options within the Department of Public Service gave a surprise presentation to a select group of city officials detailing the meter rate hikes throughout Downtown, The Short North, and German Village. The announcement also included extended meter enforcement hours in the Short North from 6pm to 9pm, and the addition of 1,800 new parking meters to be added to currently meterless areas in the city.
A second private meeting took place on Monday to announce that this plan is moving forward and the meter rate changes should start taking effect on November 30th. City Council is not required to vote on these updates, so no public meetings will be held, and no public input will be gathered during this process.
The new meter rate increases are expected to generate an additional $1.4 million annually, which initially will be going towards funding reserve bonds for the development of the new Downtown Hilton Hotel at the Convention Center. City officials are stating that eventually these funds could also be used for upgrading existing meter technology to accept credit cards.
Randy J. Bowman, Administrator of the Division of Mobility Options can be reached at 614.645.2464 or [email protected].