Cleveland City Council Passes Rollback of Bibb's Downtown Parking Price Hikes

Parking is always one of the most contentious issues in Cleveland and that’s especially been true since January when Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration rolled out new policies for the duration and price of on-street parking downtown and the near west side in Ohio City.

Cleveland City Council on Monday, responding to what the body said were vociferous concerns from residents and visitors, passed amendments to Bibb’s policies to make parking downtown cheaper and with fewer hours of enforcement.

Paid parking will now end at 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. on weekdays and run 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays. Sundays will be free except during special events.

Council also mandated that cash and coin pay stastions be installed within at least 600 feet of parking spots, as to cater to those without smartphones who aren’t able to use the ParkMobile system.

“In the interest of all Clevelanders, we thought that these changes would bring more affordable parking, parking that’s predictable and more sensible and more practical,” Ward 2 Councilman Kevin Bishop, who sponsored the legislation, said at Monday’s Meeting of the Whole. “We want to make this affordable for Clevelanders to park on the streets that they help pay for and maintain with their tax dollars.”

Late last year, a team led by Bibb senior advisor Lucas Reeve pushed to modernize Cleveland’s on-street parking system to emphasize turnover and activity. That included demand-responsive rates that shifted based on the day, hour, and what was going on at the time. A base rate of $1.50-$1.85 an hour was instituted with certain streets climbing to $8 an hour during certain special event days (mostly centered around East 9th St.)

Which is partly where the pushback came from, Council said Monday. Some people were paying $8 an hour when they had no intentions of setting foot in Progressive Field or Rocket Arena.

“I’ve gotten calls from people who go to Cleveland State at night, or get a haircut at East 12th and St. Clair, those having to pay $8 an hour because [their car’s] in the Special Event Zone?” Ward 15 Charles Slife said.

“I mean, no one’s parking at St. Clair and East 12th to walk to [Rocket Arena],” he said.

Council President Blaine Griffin said he experienced some of the price hikes, and a mistake, himself, once paying $55 to $60 to park for two hours.

“Those are things that alarm me,” he said. “Because we want people to come down and enjoy the central business district, not be dissuaded from coming to the central district.”

Parking rates would be lowered in the blue streets to $1 or $1.50 an hour rates, without any caps. Credit: City of Cleveland

With Council’s changes, parking on dozens of streets would cost either $1 or $1.50 an hour all day, with no limits.

Also, any new zones or changes to existing zones will now have to be approved by Council, as well, not just the director of Public Works.

In an email, a city spokesperson bemoaned Council’s approval of the changes on Monday.

“It’s crucial to have a dynamic parking system that can respond to actual demand by having tools in place that help balance affordability, availability and convenience,” they said.

“This ultimately means Clevelanders will suffer,” they added, “especially our small business owners and their customers, as we’ll no longer be able to adequately adjust rates to create turnover—which is needed to drive economic vibrancy, especially in high-demand areas.”