The Short North is Trying to Simplify Parking for Visitors
Columbus is taking bigs step to simplify parking in one of the most visited areas in the city.
Zoning changes were pushed through after the Columbus Development Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick decided to not take any of the comments from those who had attended.
There will be a January 10th. meeting at the Goodale Park Shelterhouse for the public to hear about the zoning changes which will be similar to a 2015 proposal that would create a “Short North Special Parking Area,” which would allow officials to write their own zoning regulations for specific areas.
Developers would need to pay into a fund if they’re proposals won’t meet standards for required parking spaces. $20,000 for residential and $10,000 for nonresidential. The fund’s goal is to alleviate the transportation issues in the area. Many of the businesses in The Short North will be exempt from this, including art galleries, single-unit homes and smaller retail spaces (under 2,500 square feet.)
Columbus is ultimately in the infant stages of implementing any parking changes to the Short North. Everything is still on the table, including a plan that could divide the area into parking zones that are progressively more expensive closer to High Street. The plan would force residents who live in “paid zones” to buy permits to park there.
Currently, the area has 15 different permit zones for parking.
“Imagine if you had laws around stealing or breaking into a house where on one block it was a different level crime than around the corner,” said John Allen, owner of the Short North Tavern to the Dispatch. “We would all say that was just stupid.”
[editor’s note] Due to some very legitimate concerns—I have removed some editorial comments from the beginning of this article. They were a poor reflection on us, and an inaccurate statement on the amount of visitors The Short North receives — I’ve also changed the headline of the article because ultimately it is not for us to decide whether the current parking situation is a “problem” or not.
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