Streetcar, space turnover behind meter rate changes

It's going to cost more to park in some parts of Downtown and in Over-the-Rhine. And, in some places, less.

The city is making changes so it can pay for the streetcar and encourage space turnover so more people can park.

Most notably, 725 Downtown parking spaces will increase to $2.25 an hour, the highest it's ever been.

Starting Tuesday, per-hour pricing will be:

* $1.25 in the southeastern area of Over-the-Rhine

* 75 cents in the southwestern and northwestern areas of Over-the-Rhine

* $2.25 on the eastern side of the Central Business District

* $1.75 in the northwestern area of the Central Business District

* $2.00 in the southwestern area of the Central Business District

"The changes reflect the City's recently implemented market-driven approach to handling pricing in the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine," City Manager Harry Black said.

Black has repeatedly said he wants Cincinnati to become a national model for using analytics to make city government more effective and efficient.

It's the second increase in the last three months, and there could be more changes to come. Black said rates will be reviewed quarterly.

An Enquirer analysis of rate changes showed:

In Downtown, the cost of 725 spaces is going up – or 53 percent of the spaces available; while 642 spaces are decreasing or staying the same.

In Over-the-Rhine, the cost of 390 spaces is going up – or 68 percent of the spaces available; while 182 spaces are decreasing or staying the same.

Parking revenue is more important than ever to the city. The plan to pay for streetcar operations calls for $1.5 million in parking revenue.

The city currently has about 5,000 meters, including 1,400 smart meters already in Downtown. Annually, it collects about $3.4 million in meter revenue and another $3.4 million in fines. The Fiscal Year 2015 budget calls for the city to collect $2 million more.

The changes come after two years of parking controversy. First, the city planned to privatize the system through a long-term lease with Xerox, an international data-processing giant. That would have meant an $85 million infusion in the city's operating budget. But that idea was shot down by a new administration fearful of what could happen to parking rates if decision-making was taken out of the hands of City Council.

The city is still contracting with Xerox to run the system. The city pays Xerox $592,000 a year for meter maintenance, ticket processing and data analytics. Even using conservative estimates, the city is expected to reap twice that in new parking revenue. It will likely take a year to fully implement the system.

Parking rates and enforcement hours have a wide-reaching impact on most everyone in Greater Cincinnati. People come to Downtown for Reds and Bengals games, festivals, work, a night out at the Banks or Fountain Square; they visit neighborhood small businesses, restaurants and bars. Small business and restaurant owners also rely on meters to drive business – the rates and hours need to be set just right to create enough turnover to keep customers coming and going.

The increases come in the wake of the city failing to pass a residential parking plan for Over-the-Rhine, where it's often difficult to find on-street parking. Council voted down the most recent plan because few people were happy with how the spaces were allocated. It will be up to council to direct the administration to draw up a new plan.

Council Member Chris Seelbach, who lives in Over-the-Rhine, called it "simple supply and demand."

"If you're willing to walk a few more blocks then you pay less," Seelbach said. "Part of what supports the parking plan is maximizing the system and part of that is using data to drive decisions on rates. That is a modernized system."

About parking Downtown and Over-the-Rhine

* Hours of operation for meters will remain the same – 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

* Extended prepay options remain at CBD and OTR meters at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

* The 10-minute, free parking option Downtown will remain in place. However, f you need to park longer than that, your first 10 minutes will not be free.

* The administration is continuing to work to work with Xerox on a pay-by-phone option, which could be implemented by summer.