Columbus forms parking commission to look at downtown

A newly formed commission will take a look at the parking situation in downtown Columbus and suggest solutions.

Columbus City Council voted unanimously last night to approve the creation of the new commission which will be made up of eight people, including representative of the city engineer, police, visitors center, redevelopment commission and two appointments each by the mayor and City Council. One of the mayor’s appointments will be a downtown business owner, while one of the council appointments will be a downtown employee.

Specifically, the parking commission will be looking at the area between Brown and Sycamore streets and 1st through 7th streets.

Mary Ferdon, director of administration and community development for the city, pointed out that the pandemic had greatly reduced the parking crunch in downtown Columbus. But once the situation returns to normal, parking problems are expected to return.

Ferdon said there is always a danger of creating more bureaucracy, but the commission would have no authority to spend money and any fines or fees recommended by the commission would have to be approved by the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety.