'Sucks': Ohio City will no longer offer free parking in the coming weeks

CLEVELAND — Free street parking will soon be a thing of the past in Ohio City.

The City of Cleveland announced on Wednesday that it will be rolling out a pay-to-park mobile service in three phases over the next several weeks.

The on-street parking update will proceed in the coming weeks according to the following phases:

• Phase 1:  Main Commercial
  The first phase, set to occur over the next four weeks, will consist of the W. 25^th Street-Lorain Avenue commercial corridors where parking meters currently exist. In these areas, the coin-operated meters will be supplemented with the new ParkMobile technology to provide individuals with easier, more convenient options to pay for street parking. There is no change to enforcement, and it will continue as-is in these areas – i.e., those who commit parking violations will be subject to citations and fines.
• Phase 2:  Select Commercial
  Once the first phase is complete, the City will move on to the next phase, which will include extending paid street parking zones along portions of Lorain Avenue, W. 25^th Street, and nearby offshoots where time-limited parking sessions currently exist. In these areas, time-limited signage is posted, but there are currently no coin-operated meters. The new ParkMobile technology will be installed to provide individuals with a modernized parking option that will also help improve parking operations and management in a consistent manner. This phase is anticipated to take two to three weeks. Enforcement in these areas will be temporarily paused to allow time for individuals to get acclimated to the change. Those who commit parking violations during the grace period will receive warnings in lieu of citations and fines.
• Phase 3:  Select Mixed-Use
  Once Phase 2 is completed, the City will move on to the last phase, which involves mixed-use areas, including Detroit Avenue, Fulton Road, Church Avenue, Bridge Avenue and W. 28^th Street, where meters do not currently exist. This phase is also expected to take approximately two to three weeks, and enforcement will be temporarily paused to give people time to adapt to the new system. During this grace period, warnings will be issued for parking violations in these areas in lieu of citations and fines.

The goal, according to the City, is to create more turnover in front of businesses to increase street parking availability.
“[Parking] is difficult enough already. I usually come 15-20 minutes early just to try to find a spot and fight with other people to try to steal their spot,” City Goods employee Sydney Maddox said.

Maddox said tacking on a parking fee will only keep people from shopping on West 28^th Street,

“It’s a schlep to come down here and try to park which deters people already and then having to pay even more money on top of what they’re deciding to do down here – it just sucks,” Maddox added. “I think a lot about somewhere like the West Side Market which is just down the street. They always have the free hour-long parking and that’s such a great option for people because they’re able to explore the area and get a taste of what Cleveland is about. Unfortunately, parking around here is really difficult. I think adding the paid parking options will deter people from coming to this area.”

On the other hand, the Owner of Saucy Brew Works, Brent Zimmerman, applauded the City of Cleveland for making this move to add pay-to-park on Detroit Avenue.

“We want people to be in our businesses across 29^th, Detroit, 25^th, wherever you’re talking about in Ohio City spending dollars, but we don’t [want] people parking here all day long that do not spend dollars in some of these bars, restaurants, boutiques, salons, whatever it is. It’s not good for anybody. Free parking is a tax to society. People don’t look at it like that. I do,” Zimmerman added.

He said that while the parking options in Ohio City are reasonable, he suggests looking for public transportation or even riding a bike.

“Everyone, including myself, needs more exercise. If you live a long way away, then you figure it out. It’s a part of life. It’s part of how you decide whether you want to work at certain places or not,” Zimmerman added. “My goal isn’t to tax people to have to park, but we need to increase commerce in some of these places.”

Zimmerman explained that the pay-to-park service would help fill vacant retail spaces and keep vehicles from being parked in spaces for more than a few hours or even days.

News 5 asked both Zimmerman and Maddox if they’d be open to the idea of a residential/employee permit granting free parking.

Zimmerman said he would need more details but that capping the number of permits wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“If it’s a situation where there’s enough passes given out that we haven’t rectified the situation, then I don’t agree at all,” Zimmerman said.

Maddox said while she would appreciate the continued free parking, she’s still worried about how it’ll impact mom-and-pop shops.

“It would still pose the issue for potential customers,” she said.

The City of Cleveland said the ParkMobile system will afford the City an opportunity to study utilization patterns and enforcement trends, as well as analyze other metrics to make data-driven decisions for future street parking management adjustments.

“The system will allow the city to more effectively manage on-street parking by providing the ability to adjust paid parking hours to better align with business hours in the evenings and on weekends, and to adjust parking rates based on demand – to achieve the program goal of providing convenient and available on-street parking,” the City said in a press release Wednesday.

The City of Cleveland is seeking feedback on planned Phase Three locations. CLICK HERE for that form.

Detroit Shoreway and University Circle are next on the City’s list of installing pay-to-park spots.

ParkMobile signs were mistakenly installed at the wrong time in some areas of Ohio City last week. The City apologizes for the confusion.