Sentencing phase to cite mental health

The Franklin County jurors who convicted Lincoln S. Rutledge on Thursday of purposely killing a Columbus police officer weren’t allowed to consider his mental health.

That changes Monday,

Service the power to set parking rates and kick off the pilot program.

“We’re definitely closer to a final product now,” said Amanda Ford, the city’s parking czar.

The city has been working for years to ease the competition for parking. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods complain that they can’t find a space near their homes, and visitors troll the streets looking for an available space.

City officials developed a plan to simplify parking based on a consultant’s study; residents unhappy with the results came up with their own version.

Under the city’s plan, the neighborhoods on both sides of High Street would be divided into zones where permit holders could park for as long as they want.

Anyone who wants to park there without a permit Monday through Friday would have to use a smartphone app to pay $1 an hour during the day and $2.50 an hour in the evening. They would have to move their vehicles every six hours during the day and every three hours in the evening and overnight. Parking rates on Saturday would be $2.50 an hour, and vehicles would have to be moved every three hours. On Sunday, parking restrictions would not be enforced.

In parts of the neighborhoods that are farther from High Street, parking would be free for drivers who don’t have permits, but they still would have to move their vehicles at regular intervals.

Enforcement vehicles outfitted with license-plate readers would troll residential streets to make sure that vehicles aren’t squatting on spaces Source: Columbus Department of Public Service, maps4news. com/© HERE

beyond the time limits.

Businesses would be eligible to buy two permits each, and the city is working on an “employee parking program” that could use parking revenue to shift workers to alternative transportation forms or other parking options.

The pilot program would run for three years, and

the city could make tweaks during that time, Ford said.

Residents said that plan has several flaws. Permit holders will pay an annual fee, but they still will have to compete with others for spaces. Residents also contend that the city’s plan doesn’t do enough to fix employee parking, they said.

“We want to make sure residents can come back to their homes and not yield that to private business practice,” said Mark Bocija, a member of a resident-led group.

Ford said the city’s plan to price parking at $1 an hour during the day and $2.50 an hour at night should drive visitors to cheaper options, such as parking garages. But Jen Wooster-McBride, a resident and former chief operating officer for Parking Solutions Inc., said that price is too low.

“If that’s the argument, it just doesn’t hold water,” she said.

Ford said the average price to park at a Short North garage is about $2. WoosterMcBride said it’s closer to $3.

Prices vary widely among the garages. For three hours, the Joseph Garage costs about $1.33 per hour, the Hub garage costs about $2.33 per hour, and the Greater Columbus Convention Center garage on Goodale Street costs $3 per hour.

City officials have said they need to balance the competing interests in the district. Residents want convenient parking, but the district has to be able to provide parking for visitors and workers, too.

Residents said their burden is unfair, though. “It’s not sharing because it’s displacing,” Bocija said.

Ford said the city listened to the group and used some of its suggestions. Hang tags for guests, for example, will be available, and the city lowered the price of annual permits from $50 to $25.

The city will continue to work on a plan for parking for Short North workers, she said, but it couldn’t risk harming the district by banning visitors and workers from parking on residential streets at night.

“It’s unwelcoming to guests and visitors,” Ford said. “We felt that was far too restrictive.”

Public meetings about the proposal are scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 6 at the Goodale Park Shelterhouse and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 13 in the Junior Achievement Gym, 68 E. 2nd Ave. A public hearing is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. July 19 at City Hall.

For more information about the city’s plan, visit columbus.gov/publicservice/ parking/proposed-shortnorth