1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

Lack of political will. However, many private parking contracts were written to supply a large (tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars) one-time payment up front and a modest revenue stream thereafter. It circumvents the bonding/debt limits that many public bodies operate under and provides a surge of revenue to afford capital projects that otherwise could not be afforded -- or at least not for a long time.

 

Hmmmm......then odds are good there's a strong penalty clause if the city either pulls back their rights or even allows too much competition.  Which could explain (in part) the clout the lot operators have.

My wife and I drove downtown yesterday evening for dinner in the Warehouse District.  Despite having 2 surface lots closed off for the start of the Sherwin Williams project, it was still only $10 to valet at W 6th and St Clair.   I wonder how long that will last?  

Credit card meters finally coming. 
 

in addition to pay-by-credit-card, I’m hoping they implement dynamic pricing, especially downtown and Uni Circle. 

 

 

40 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Credit card meters finally coming. 
 

in addition to pay-by-credit-card, I’m hoping they implement dynamic pricing, especially downtown and Uni Circle. 

 

 

 

Do parking meters that double as EV chargers exist? We should throw a few of those in the mix if so. 

19 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

 

Do parking meters that double as EV chargers exist? We should throw a few of those in the mix if so. 

Now that’s an idea that I’d be ok with them trying even if it doesn’t exist yet!

https://twitter.com/the_transit_guy/status/1592162146506481666?t=-ydFSHyjXdSA_Y193Be-lA&s=19

Where does revenue from garages and marking meters go? At the end of the article it says some of the revenue from the Westside Market lot will go towards capital improvements of the Market. I think it would make the most sense to go towards improving services and infrastructure so people have legitimate alternatives to drive, like RTA or actual protected bike lanes... 

 

Cleveland City Council to discuss possible increases in parking rates

Kim Palmer | August 16th 2023 5:50 AM

 

"Clevelanders soon could use an app rather than dig for quarters to pay for all on-street parking, if City Council passes a parking-fee ordinance that would also give flexibility to increase rates at city owned lots, garages and meters.

 

The legislation will be considered at council’s meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 16. It would set in motion the rollout of an app that would allow online payments for on-street parking even before the old-school, coin-based meters are replaced, said Bonnie Teeuwen, the city’s chief operating officer.

 

“If the legislation passes, it will advance the agreement with the vendor (ParkMobile) and we could see a parking app in place within about 30 to 45 days,” Teeuwen said."

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/politics-policy/cleveland-city-council-considers-increases-parking-rates

Where does revenue from garages and marking meters go? At the end of the article it says some of the revenue from the Westside Market lot will go towards capital improvements of the Market. I think it would make the most sense to go towards improving services and infrastructure so people have legitimate alternatives to drive, like RTA or actual protected bike lanes... 
 
Cleveland City Council to discuss possible increases in parking rates
Kim Palmer | August 16th 2023 5:50 AM
 
"Clevelanders soon could use an app rather than dig for quarters to pay for all on-street parking, if City Council passes a parking-fee ordinance that would also give flexibility to increase rates at city owned lots, garages and meters.
 
The legislation will be considered at council’s meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 16. It would set in motion the rollout of an app that would allow online payments for on-street parking even before the old-school, coin-based meters are replaced, said Bonnie Teeuwen, the city’s chief operating officer.
 
“If the legislation passes, it will advance the agreement with the vendor (ParkMobile) and we could see a parking app in place within about 30 to 45 days,” Teeuwen said."
 
https://www.crainscleveland.com/politics-policy/cleveland-city-council-considers-increases-parking-rates

Long overdue but $8 an hour to park in Downtown Cleveland would be absolutely ridiculous. Personally I take the redline most times though.

Also if they are going to make this digital parking a thing, how about getting rid of those ridiculous police orders that restrict parking in certain areas. I’m an urban enthusiast it annoys me but I’ll deal with it.

Those who are visiting from the suburbs are less willing to deal with the inconvenience and choose not to come downtown.


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6 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

Long overdue but $8 an hour to park in Downtown Cleveland would be absolutely ridiculous

Was talking about this last night, our parking taxes are limited by the state at 8%. Pittsburgh is 37%. Parking shouldn't be cheap and driving in downtown shouldn't be easy. If you walk down Euclid at lunch some cars are ripping down the street (E9 towards PS) at 30+MPH and that's BS. Same goes for other large streets like Huron/Prospect, etc. I shouldn't have to be afraid of cars while biking/walking in a city center.

 

5 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

how about getting rid of those ridiculous police orders that restrict parking in certain areas

Their excuse is it helps with traffic flow, when in reality they're propping up parking garage/lot owners. Maybe it makes sense on the major streets, but side/arterials (2 laners) don't get used any differently when parking is removed. The thing that bothers me is someone physically putting up and taking these signs down.

They need to get rid of the police restrictions on Huron/Prospect but also get rid of the free parking after 6pm. Charge the correct amount to induce turnover in this area and voila.

It shouldn’t be that difficult, especially if we’re going to app based payment. Hopefully they can figure out how May spaces are open, etc to hone in pricing. 

Question. What factors go into the city determining which streets are allowed to park on both sides of the street?

There are streets in the city that could use that ability such as streets off of Clifton avenue near Lakewood and I believe Lake only allows one side to be parked on as well.

It can't be street width because West 26th off of Lorain is extremely narrow and allows it.

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On 8/16/2023 at 12:15 PM, MyPhoneDead said:

Those who are visiting from the suburbs are less willing to deal with the inconvenience and choose not to come downtown.

Downtown should not be designed around the convenience of people that don't live here.

46 minutes ago, lwsedla said:

Downtown should not be designed around the convenience of people that don't live here.

 

As someone who lived Downtown for a decade, I heartily disagree.  Downtown is what it is because it is a destination for people from all over the region, not to mention visitors from other parts of the country and the world.  If Downtown has to operate a primarily a residential neighborhood, it will wither and die.  Downtown residents alone won't fill those hotels, offices, restaurants, convention facilities, theaters and concert venues.  They would sit empty and go away.  Hell, all of that excitement and all of those people from all over is why I wanted to live there.

12 hours ago, lwsedla said:

Downtown should not be designed around the convenience of people that don't live here.

Another name for them is "customers"

11 hours ago, X said:

 

As someone who lived Downtown for a decade, I heartily disagree.  Downtown is what it is because it is a destination for people from all over the region, not to mention visitors from other parts of the country and the world.  If Downtown has to operate a primarily a residential neighborhood, it will wither and die.  Downtown residents alone won't fill those hotels, offices, restaurants, convention facilities, theaters and concert venues.  They would sit empty and go away.  Hell, all of that excitement and all of those people from all over is why I wanted to live there.

 

If I had to guess, their post wasn't trying to bar outsiders from downtown, it's to prevent these visitors and people from the suburbs the ability to drive 30-40+MPH on downtown streets or the ability to do donuts on streets that are too wide 97% of the time. Suburbanites already have 8 lane highways to get into town, why do we need to acquiesce to them further? Our BRT can't navigate downtown without dealing with cars in the bus lane, our "bike lanes" end when you get into downtown, the traffic volume is never high enough to fill up Superior/St. Clair/even E.9 almost all days and so on.

 

Look at Pittsburgh - downtown isn't convenient, parking is very expensive (comparatively), and residential volume is lower than ours and yet they're thriving. 

 

25 minutes ago, bjk said:

Another name for them is "customers"

 

Attendance is up at Guardians games, Cavs games are always busy and Browns take over downtown on gameday, I think "customers" are still going to come here even if it takes an extra 10-20 minutes to drive into the city center. The casino garage continuously blocks traffic off of Huron and cars pulling out from the garage do crap like below on the regular, personally I think downtown streets should be safe for people walking/biking/scooting not for someone who's rushing to get back to Geauga County.

 

 

39 minutes ago, bjk said:

Another name for them is "customers"

 

I was about to post that I guarantee every retail or service business down there would emphatically disagree.   So if you want them downtown instead of Independence.....

On-street parking slows traffic down. I hate how one way or no parking streets often turn into the Daytona 500.    

4 hours ago, GISguy said:

If I had to guess, their post wasn't trying to bar outsiders from downtown, it's to prevent these visitors and people from the suburbs the ability to drive 30-40+MPH on downtown streets or the ability to do donuts on streets that are too wide 97% of the time. Suburbanites already have 8 lane highways to get into town, why do we need to acquiesce to them further? Our BRT can't navigate downtown without dealing with cars in the bus lane, our "bike lanes" end when you get into downtown, the traffic volume is never high enough to fill up Superior/St. Clair/even E.9 almost all days and so on.

 

Thank you, this is much more thoughtfully worded than my initial post and was indeed what I was going for.

 

I was being glib for sure, and I don't think downtown should be hostile towards visitors, but that our infrastructure shouldn't be built around their cars. 

6 hours ago, lwsedla said:

 

Thank you, this is much more thoughtfully worded than my initial post and was indeed what I was going for.

 

I was being glib for sure, and I don't think downtown should be hostile towards visitors, but that our infrastructure shouldn't be built around their cars. 

 

I agree with that part, no doubt.  We need a better overall system of transit, and for our Downtown streets to be friendly places for pedestrians and bicyclists as well.

From the New York Times today:

27 minutes ago, w28th said:

From the New York Times today:

The boundaries of those parking areas must be wildly different. 

Are these costs reflecting private lots/garages, public parking spaces, or both? I thought our public parking costs was below peer cities.

The article references a study, which is based on searches on the SpotHero app. I did a search in Cleveland myself and it only shows one parking deck at $179/month. I'm not sure if that is representative. https://www.finn.com/en-US/campaign/priciest-parking

I think the issue is using spot hero. Cheapest monthly parking in what is generally considered downtown (ignoring burke, the flats, and the wastelands) is about $100/month. Source, looked recently. 

Maybe l'm being cheap but one thing l take into consideration when going out is the cost of parking. It's not the only reason but if l'm deciding on a restaurant with free parking vs. paying, $20 to park more often than not l'll choose the free or cheap parking. As much as l love supporting downtown when l eat out l'm more apt to eat in a nice Cleveland neighborhood rather than downtown. In fact l rarely eat in a downtown restaurant except when l'm there for a game or the theater. 

 

Downtown is struggling to get back to its pre-covid activity. Jacking up parking is only going to discourage people from going downtown.

Nothing wrong with factoring the cost of parking, though these days I imagine eating out/entertainment is so expensive that parking is the least of it.

 

SpotHero helps mitigate parking prices a great deal, especially if you're willing to walk a few extra blocks. For instance, if you plan on heading downtown tonight from 8-11pm, there is a ton of $3 parking (total, not per hour) by E.13th. $8 at the Westin on 6th.  $8-$10 on 17th. $20 around 9th. $30 around the Theater District. Nevermind all the free parking along Lakeside. Maybe Ontario.

 

So downtown has a range of $1-$10 per hour more or less. That seems fairly reasonable, especially if you're going to drop $50-$100-higher for a downtown outting anyway.

To be honest I'm not sure Downtown's really ready for parking enforcement on weekends. Particularly weekends without games or concerts. 

 

Also, I think this might have a surprisingly large impact on downtown residents. It's a tough sell to ask someone to pay $20 or more merely for the privilege of hanging out with you. Especially when going to their place is practically free. 

 

$50-$100 for an occasional "downtown outing" is one thing, but for a semi-regular hang out with friends, it's just too high. I made use of and appreciated free downtown weekend parking for bringing in guests. I do think this will have an impact on downtown restaurants etc, though how much is hard to say. If the extra funds being brought in are put to good use it may be fine. 

 

I'm also concerned that the businesses this will impact the most are the few reasonably-affordable options downtown. This won't have any impact on the Marble Room for instance, but moderately priced options are now even less affordable compared to their suburban peers for anyone who isn't already downtown or well connected via public transportation. I could be wrong, but it seems like we have just started to get more resident focused dining options downtown (as opposed to business/"downtown outing" options), and I'd hate to see anything dampen that trend. 

 

Perhaps this could be a good trade if this extra revenue is used to increase transit frequency (thus making a cheap trip downtown realistic for more residents) but I worry this extra money will just disappear down a black hole. 

 

Anyway, just my potentially counter narrative thoughts as a current downtown resident. 

I agree. also, there isn't enough demand on nights and weekends to justify enforcement/raising prices, imo. it'll just make fewer people come downtown. 

 

if the city wants to make money on cars, they should ticket double parking on streets like e9 and euclid ave and ticket people parking in no parking zones. 

Free nights and weekends was useful for downtown residents that worked elsewhere during the day. I doubt it will dissuade anybody coming downtown for games, concerts, or dinner. What's a few dollars for street parking when you are likely going to spend a ton on food and drinks anyway.

13 minutes ago, Mendo said:

Free nights and weekends was useful for downtown residents that worked elsewhere during the day. I doubt it will dissuade anybody coming downtown for games, concerts, or dinner. What's a few dollars for street parking when you are likely going to spend a ton on food and drinks anyway.

I'm guessing most reverse commuters (like myself) are still paying for monthly parking. The point I tried to make is that it's useful not for the residents themselves, but for bringing in friends to visit. The strategy I eventually adopted is to have them find a parking meter downtown and just pick them up from there. It's still a bit of a hassle, but at least I'm not asking them to pay a cover charge just to visit me. With that going away, I imagine I'd just go back to the previous arrangement I used before figuring out that trick, which was to drive myself out to the suburbs instead. 

 

I agree this won't dissuade anyone coming down for concerts or games. Nor will it dissuade people who are looking for an expensive night on the town. The people it might dissuade are those that were just looking to get a slice from Gerraci's or just get a beer with friends. Those people will likely opt for a nearby neighborhood or the suburbs instead. 

 

Downtown is currently oversaturated with expensive treat yourself restaurant options, and is lacking in cheaper options. I'm worried this change will disproportionately impact the cheaper options that are just starting to move in to downtown. 

10 hours ago, w28th said:

From the New York Times today:

 

Pretty dubious list. Cleveland more expensive than Chicago or Boston? No way.

 

Well here's a story that I'm still fuming about... 

 

Two weeks ago, my garage was full - and I only needed to be in the office for about an hour. 

 

I had enough change for 57 minutes on the timer. I went in and walked out a little over 80 minutes later... to three parking tickets, all of them written within 19 minutes of each other.... all under the same windshield wiper... 

31 minutes ago, YABO713 said:

Well here's a story that I'm still fuming about... 

 

Two weeks ago, my garage was full - and I only needed to be in the office for about an hour. 

 

I had enough change for 57 minutes on the timer. I went in and walked out a little over 80 minutes later... to three parking tickets, all of them written within 19 minutes of each other.... all under the same windshield wiper... 

You can contest it online. They're actually pretty good about it. That's stupid.  

@YABO713One of the quickest ways to discourage the random downtown visitor is give them a parking ticket. If they are the type of visitor who only comes a few times a year and when they do they get a ticket, well you can probably say bye-bye for any future visits. 

 

So the cost of parking plus any parking tickets could discourage visitors and at times like this downtown doesn't need to discourage folks. Every little visit helps.

On 9/22/2023 at 11:12 AM, cadmen said:

@YABO713One of the quickest ways to discourage the random downtown visitor is give them a parking ticket. If they are the type of visitor who only comes a few times a year and when they do they get a ticket, well you can probably say bye-bye for any future visits. 

 

So the cost of parking plus any parking tickets could discourage visitors and at times like this downtown doesn't need to discourage folks. Every little visit helps.

 

St. Pete FL will forgive your first parking ticket. Thought that was great as a tourist, but then it turned out my brother's car I was borrowing already had one forgiven lol. 

 

If there's a parking meter (in any city) you should expect to pay it and expect a ticket if you don't - we had free parking downtown for 2+ years during COVID, it can't (and shouldn't) be free forever. Once we have digital meters you'll be able to reup your parking from the app, it's pretty convenient vs what we have today. 

On 9/21/2023 at 6:48 PM, YABO713 said:

Well here's a story that I'm still fuming about... 

 

Two weeks ago, my garage was full - and I only needed to be in the office for about an hour. 

 

I had enough change for 57 minutes on the timer. I went in and walked out a little over 80 minutes later... to three parking tickets, all of them written within 19 minutes of each other.... all under the same windshield wiper... 

I agree, I’d contest it. I live downtown and have received four over the years. I contested all four and got three removed. 
 

MEDIA RELEASE    
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    

Contact:
 

Marie Zickefoose, City of Cleveland    

[email protected] 

 

City of Cleveland and ParkMobile launch downtown digital parking solution

 

October 23, 2023 — Cleveland — The City of Cleveland, in collaboration with ParkMobile, officially launched a new digital parking solution in downtown Cleveland, revolutionizing the parking experience for both residents and guests. 

 

This launch will phase out approximately 2,500 coin-based parking meters, which will transition into the uniform ParkMobile app-based parking system. This transition aligns with Mayor Bibb’s vision to modernize operations throughout the City of Cleveland - improving efficiency and enforcement.  
 
Mayor Bibb stated, "We are thrilled to partner with ParkMobile to introduce this advanced technology and provide both residents and visitors with a much-improved parking experience in our city." 
 
With this new system, users can digitally pay for parking by entering the zone number posted nearby directly into the ParkMobile app or their mobile web browser. Non-smartphone users can also utilize ParkMobile by calling their interactive voice response service. 
 
Additionally, users can extend their parking period through the app, providing more time to enjoy the restaurants, events, stores, and amenities downtown. This extended stay option aims to boost revenue for Cleveland business owners and operators. 
 
David Hoyt, Managing Director of ParkMobile, said, "ParkMobile is the trusted parking and mobility management platform for more than 600 cities across North America. By eliminating the stress of parking in urban environments, we're working towards our mission of making cities more livable." 
 
To learn more about how to use the ParkMobile app and to discover convenient parking locations, visit https://park.parkmobile.io/oh/cleveland/cleveland-ohio.  

 

### 

About ParkMobile 

 

ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America and part of the global parking tech company, EasyPark Group. With the vision to make cities more livable, EasyPark Group owns and develops the apps EasyPark, ParkMobile, RingGo and Park-line, and operates in over 4,000 cities across more than 20 countries. ParkMobile offers digital solutions to quickly find and pay for on-street and off-street parking via a mobile device. The company also offers parking reservations at stadiums, venues, and metro area garages. 

I wish you could pay by card at the meter

Crap, another app?  Very annoying.

I wish you could pay by card at the meter

I believe some machines have card readers, at least by the look of them in the media articles. Some machines look similar to the ones in University Circle.

I do think it's kind of tacky that they slapped a sticker on the meters instead of pulling them

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On 10/27/2023 at 2:50 PM, MyPhoneDead said:

I do think it's kind of tacky that they slapped a sticker on the meters instead of pulling them

 

I kind of had a snarky tweet about this that Kerry M. was on, he said the eventual plan is to phase out the meters w/pay stations. 

 

Which got me to thinking - some parking lots have their pay stations facing the sidewalk (and are also using ParkMobile), and although there are signs I could see an instance where someone from the public sees this pays there and gets a ticket from the city. Small possibility, but one nonetheless. Idk how you'd change the law (and it really isn't that big of a deal, all things considered), but private lots should have their pay stations contained within the lots, not fronting the public ROW.

 

Two annoying articles for all us urbanites, but still good reads and gives me some hope.

 

Hope to Close W 29th to Cars

 

Parking Discussion on Cleveland's Poor Land Use

1 hour ago, WindyBuckeye said:

Two annoying articles for all us urbanites, but still good reads and gives me some hope.

 

Hope to Close W 29th to Cars

 

The automatic response really is to just be against anything but the status quo, huh.

Also…I get tired of Clevelanders acting like they’re under house arrest in the wintertime. If this city would learn to embrace these months everyone would be a lot happier.

 

1 hour ago, Enginerd said:

The automatic response really is to just be against anything but the status quo, huh.

Also…I get tired of Clevelanders acting like they’re under house arrest in the wintertime. If this city would learn to embrace these months everyone would be a lot happier.

 

I agree. But I also had an experience in Ohio City a month ago when it was really cold where I found a fine parking spot a 9-minute walk from where we needed to go, and I was overruled by my SO 😃

2 hours ago, Enginerd said:

The automatic response really is to just be against anything but the status quo, huh.

Also…I get tired of Clevelanders acting like they’re under house arrest in the wintertime. If this city would learn to embrace these months everyone would be a lot happier.

 

Amen!   And winters aren't even that bad!  

 

Everyone needs to take a trip up to Buffalo, where there is a Christmas market, pond hockey tournaments, and 5k races all winter long.  The common theme:   they all involve drinking on the streets!   I've never understood why Cleveland can't handle ourselves in this way.  I suppose it goes back to Riverfest....

A pedestrian only W 29th sounds like a good place for street fests!

 

As far as the Scene article goes, kind of discouraging these nimbys are given enough influence to shut down developments due to lack of parking.  

this isn't s nimby situation. any business would be reasonably concerned about the effects of closing the street you do business on.

9 hours ago, Whipjacka said:

this isn't s nimby situation. any business would be reasonably concerned about the effects of closing the street you do business on.

Especially if deliveries are impacted.   

There are plenty of parking spots within walking distance and there are ways to handle deliveries. There are businesses all over that are on pedestrian only streets that still manage to get their deliveries and thrive. 

 

One solution would be bollards that lower into the street allowing the street to be opened at certain times to deliveries, most probably the morning when pedestrian traffic is lighter. 

These little street closings like W. 29th and Market Ave. are sideshows.  They aren't going to substantially impact Cleveland's transportation or land use patterns.  I suppose they could make for nice little entertainment destinations, but most people are going to drive to them the way our city is set up today.

 

The real work of changing Cleveland's transportation and land use patterns to something more sustainable will be in fighting for better zoning and land use regulations, better roadway design standards that slow traffic and facilitate other modes of transportation, more funding for public transit and non-motorized transportation, and redirect investment into areas of the metropolitan area where infrastructure investments have already been made.