CINCINNATI — On Tuesday, Cincinnati City Council's Equitable Growth and Housing committee voted yes on a revised plan for more access to parking spaces in northern Over-The-Rhine.
The city worked with Findley Market, Over-the-Rhine Community representatives and business stakeholders to develop a parking provision representing the community's interests.
"We need to have that density, you got to have people coming into the city, so they need a place to park and feel comfortable. So, flex parking makes a lot of sense from a business point of view," said Kevin Foston, owner of Makers Bakers Co.
The original proposed plan included 213 residential pass-only spaces, 271 flex parking spaces, 340 paid parking spaces and five other CPD spaces. Using this map, the council sought feedback during a four-week hold.
The new plan is to remove six proposed parking restrictions north of Findlay Market, excluding the North Mohawk area to create 127 unrestricted spaces, changing 32 spaces from flex to residential on Pleasant and Green Street (between Race and Elm streets), 30 spaces from paid to flex on Republic between Findlay and Green streets, 43 spaces from paid to flex for Vine Street from Liberty to Elder streets and change 12 unrestricted spaces to residential on Logan Street south of Findlay Street.
The proposed changes include 176 unrestricted parking spaces north of Findlay Street. The revision is to help OTR workers have access to more spaces. It will also be available for residents and visitors.
"In the winter, it's dark, they're by themselves. They need parking that's close and affordable, and the parking right now is not affordable," said Carolyn Mason, owner of The Beautiful Bags Lady.
The city is also working to reduce the cost of parking for two parking garages in the area, including the Findlay Market garage. In addition, they are looking to update meter rates for on-street parking.
The next steps include finalizing wayfinding signage for garages. Once the plan is enforced, the city will review the impact of the changes between six to 12 months.
"So the bottom line is that we have, we have a compromise here that's much better than where we started, and that everyone agreed, you know, let's try it out but let's see how it works," said Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney.
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