Right Now Downtown

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!

FEEDING THE HUNGRY METER

You pull into the great parking space you found outside your favorite downtown eatery.  But before you can feed your belly, you have to feed the meter.  Commence with the digging for change!  By the time you’ve dug through your change tray, pockets, wallet and car seat cushions, you just might have enough time on the meter to enjoy a cocktail AND dinner.

Luckily, the City of Columbus is trying to simplify things with some new meters that accept – wonder of wonders – credit cards!  You may want to keep a few extra quarters lodged between the bucket seats of your convertible for a bit longer in case you run into a meter accepting only cash, but the rollout is well underway.  The new meters are a breeze to use.

Don’t believe us?  Check out this video that gives you the low down on the new way to feed the meter.

PARK IT HERE

The Parking Meter Advisory Team made final recommendations to the City of Columbus last week, so changes are coming soon as you pull up to park.  More meters.  Simplified rates.  Extended hours.

More importantly, you’ve arrived and it’s where you want to be.  Forget your worries and park it here for a while to see what Columbus has to offer…

(And never fear, if you need more information on where to park it downtown, just click here.)

Park It Here from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

Recent snow storms showed that employees who commute by bus can be more reliable than employees who drive.  Last Tuesday, I had to advise my own staff about whether to come to work on Wednesday in a level 2 snow emergency.  Because driving is discouraged during a level 2 emergency, I notified employees who drive to work that they could stay home on Wednesday.  Employees who take transit had no such excuse.  I required them to come to the office.

The experience got me thinking more about the logic of company policies toward parking and transit.  Employee parking benefits are common, but transit benefits are not.  Some companies pay $85 to $160 per month for an employee to park at commercial garages or lots.  Others build and maintain their own parking facilities and offer “free” parking to employees.

Both options are expensive and create an artificial demand for parking, unless companies also offer transit benefits.  Parking benefits can drive up the cost of doing business downtown because bus passes are generally less expensive than parking.  Given a choice, many employees will choose to take transit if free passes are offered as an alternative to free parking.

Cleveland never ceases to impress me.  Last week, I traveled to the North Coast to participate in a City Club program.  I spent the night at the Wyndham Hotel on Playhouse Square, where the musical Chicago was playing.  That same night, the Cavaliers hosted the L.A. Lakers at the “Q.”

Because city planners are smart enough to limit on-site parking for major downtown venues, the 20,000 plus people attending events walked from remote parking and filled the streets, restaurants, and taverns for many blocks in every direction of their destination.  The pedestrian activity made the street feel vibrant and safe.

My friend, Mark Lammon of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, took me for a ride to Little Italy on the new Health Line that runs for seven miles along Euclid Avenue.  This bus feels like a train, runs frequently, and makes limited stops at rail-like stations.  It drew full loads of people, including young professionals, well into the evening.  In addition to this service, the City also has three light rail lines.

Downtown Cleveland seems to be doing well.  I have long wondered about the difference between Cleveland and Detroit.  Could it be Cleveland’s commitment to transit?

Downtown is apparently home to a lot of smart, creative people.  I was relieved to pick up the November 27 issue of Business First and read that downtown has the highest concentration of creative employers in central Ohio.

Intuitively, I have assumed for several years that the downtown zip code, 43215, included a concentration of people in the fields of media, marketing, architecture and design.  This zip code includes a portion of the Short North, German Village and the Brewery District.  After all, why would a creative professional want to work near a highway interchange and a Chuck E. Cheese?

In central Ohio, however, one can never overestimate how much value people place on free parking.  Most people would seemingly give up any semblance of urban order or stimulation to avoid riding a bus, biking, paying for parking, or walking to work.

Interestingly, the zip code with the highest concentration of creative employees is 43202, Clintonville, where one can get urban order and free parking!  There is a place in central Ohio where you can have your cake and eat it too.

FROM TO-DO TO TA-DAH

Here’s the official list of Things-We-Didn’t Do-Last-Month… that we can do now, thanks to the City’s new parking meter policies.  The City announced today a lift on the rush hour parking bans on several streets in downtown.  These few extra hours make a world of difference, so it’s high time to:

1.  Park on Third to grab some breakfast muffins for the office at Au Bon Pain.

2.  And pick up some bagels too, at Broad Street Bagels.

3.  Retrieve the alterations at Marie’s on Front Street after work.

4.  Score a hot dog at Dirty Frank’s on Fourth for the drive home.

5.  RENEW the dang driver’s license on Third Street, first thing in the morning.

6.  Park on Spring and hop into Barrio for some happy hour tapas.

7.  Grab some glorious blooms from T. Bears on Third to greet the day.

Our downtown is a destination and the city knows it.  Many of the parking-prohibited-during-these-hours signs are disappearing.  That makes 162 new places to park your car in the morning and the evenings.

Come downtown and play, come downtown and stay!

For more information, including locations, visit downtowncolumbus.com.

BUCKEYE BUS

What is THE most agonizing thing about going to a Buckeye game?

The suspense?
Watching a quarterback sack?
Or maybe it’s the drive to the stadium.  The longest mile can be wrought with road-ragers and texting drivers.  Add the massive road construction and…

Ladies and Gentlemen, what we have here is a failure to transportate… but not if you park downtown for the game!

We are pleased to partner with The Ohio State University to offer prime parking for Buckeye games.  What makes it prime?  It’s stress-free game-day parking at the City Center Garage on Rich Street.  Ten bucks buys a spot in the lot and two tickets to ride.

Ride what?  It’s a lovely shuttle with air conditioning, restrooms and a permit to unload at University Hall (steps away from the stadium).  After the game, take the shuttle back downtown to enjoy Buckeye Specials at our neighborhood restaurants.

And for you savvy souls who already live downtown?  A shuttle ticket is only $5, round-trip.

For more information, including route maps and a listing of Buckeye Special eateries, check out downtowncolumbus.com.

YOUR METER IS RUNNING away

tick tICK TICK… only moments remain on the parking meters.  Yes, time is running out to give the parking meters on Gay Street a whirl.  What’s the big deal?

You may have heard that the meters on the stretch between Pearl and Third are accepting credit cards.  It’s part of a trial of some very special technology that makes street parking uncommonly convenient.

The fleet of thirty-five meters has a solar powered system that can complete secure transactions with plastic cards.  AND, for those who prefer to fumble around for change, the new-fangled meters will take coins as well.  AND, these meters electronically notify the city when they’re malfunctioning (unlike the awful ones that steal your quarters).

It’s about as easy as using the card at the grocery store.

But these babies are here on a trial basis only.  At the beginning of August, they head back to their manufacturer, IPS Group in California.  The city can then officially complete its assessment of their performance.

Let us know your verdict!