Parking limits returning to downtown?

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

After more than two decades, it appears as if parking enforcement is returning to Van Wert’s downtown area.

During a meeting Monday evening of City Council’s Streets & Alleys Committee to discuss the issue, Mayor Don Farmer announced a proposal that would call for a two-hour parking limit in the downtown area, with random ticketing by the Van Wert Police Department.

“As we all know, the parking issue is an issue that has been before Council many times,” Mayor Farmer noted, adding that city officials “think we have a satisfactory conclusion” to the problem.

Violators of the two-hour parking limit would pay $40, which the mayor called a deterrent to violating the two-hour limits, although there will be no progressive increase in ticket costs for repeat offenders.

“To make this work, we feel the fine needs to be increased,” the mayor said in asking for the increase from the old fine of $10 to the proposed $40 ticket.

Anyone parking in a handicapped spot without the proper placard would be fined under regulations provided in the Ohio Revised Code, although the mayor suggested that handicap spaces be treated more leniently than regular spaces, when it comes to enforcement of the two-hour limit.

Councilman At-Large Jeff Agler objected to a too-lenient treatment of handicap parking spaces, noting that it wasn’t too difficult to obtain a handicapped placard, and many people might be tempted to do so if those spaces were treated differently.

City officials agreed that the handicap parking issue would be revisited if people abused the handicapped parking spots to park longer than two hours.

As part of the new two-hour parking limit plan, city officials would increase the number of parking spaces that would not have a two-hour limit, noting that spaces on both sides of Main Street west of Jefferson Street would not have a two-hour limit, while an area on Market Street is also being looked at for removal of a two-hour parking limit.

The object of increasing the number of spaces where parking is not limited is to provide spaces without limits closer to downtown, while reserving spaces in the prime business district for those wanting to shop downtown.

Mayor Farmer said employees of downtown businesses and government offices would be encouraged to not park in the two-hour parking spaces, while those coming downtown for jury duty in the local courts would also be told not to park in two-hour spots.

Most Council members were pleased with the proposal. “This is progress,” said Second Ward Councilman Joi Mergy.

Streets and Alleys Committee Chair Pete Weir and Main Street Van Wert Program Manager Adam Ries spearheaded the latest discussion of downtown parking, and have conducted several parking studies in the downtown area showing not only significant numbers of two-hour parking violators, but also relating the violations to lost downtown revenue.

Weir told fellow Council members that the more than 40 parking violations found during their studies equated to approximately $800,000 in lost revenues for downtown businesses, if shopper spent just $5 for every half-hour they spent downtown.

With City Council and Mayor Farmer’s administration mostly on the same page on the downtown parking issue, legislation would now have to be created to increase tickets for two-hour parking violations.

Also Monday, Council President Gary Corcoran set a special City Council meeting for 4:45 p.m. Thursday in Council Chambers. Corcoran said he would present a request at that time to change the boundary of the downtown development district to promote development of a piece of property currently outside the district.

Corcoran gave no other details of the request, but said more details would be provided during Thursday’s special meeting, including a letter providing information provided by developers.