City plans rules requiring they use only private lots
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Park-it-yourselfers have won the war against valets for the most prime spots in the Short North, Arena District, Downtown and German Village.A policy change being finalized by the Columbus Department of Public Service would ban valet-parking businesses from snatching metered and free spaces on city streets, requiring them instead to line up private lots to park their customers' vehicles.
The new rules also would prohibit valet businesses from blocking traffic lanes, intersections, crosswalks, sidewalks and wheelchair ramps.
And another provision would outlaw what city officials say is an under-the-table practice in which big tips buy rock-star parking in areas reserved for vehicles entering or leaving valet zones.
Randy Bowman, who directs the department's transportation division, said private businesses shouldn't profit from public property.
But Aaron Shocket, whose valet company Parking Solutions Inc. works with several Short North restaurants, said the city benefits, too, because valet businesses cater to suburban customers who might not venture into the neighborhood if they had to hunt for parking.
In addition to banning on-street parking for valet services, the city also will begin enforcing a long-overlooked rule and charge operators full price for metered parking spaces blocked off to create valet zones.
The ban on valet-parked vehicles using metered or free on-street parking, city-owned lots or city-owned garages will be imposed as valet companies acquire or renew annual permits, Bowman said. That will be July 1 for those now in business.
Although the new policy will apply citywide, the parking-space battle between valets and those who want to park their own vehicles has been most intense in the Short North, where parking-place supply sometimes falls short of visitors' demand.
Shocket, whose valets use private lots but park vehicles on the street in a pinch, said a problem exists once a month, on Gallery Hop nights.
"The exception will become the norm," he said.
Some neighborhood residents and area business owners who don't offer valet service complained at public hearings that valets sometimes drive dangerously as they search for parking, badger people to hurry as they pull out of spaces, or stand in someone else's way until co-workers pull in.
The new city policy demands that valet workers be "polite, professional and courteous."
John Allen, owner of the Short North Tavern, said the problem has grown with the neighborhood's popularity.
"The public parking spaces have become a big valet parking lot," he said.
Valet companies have argued at hearings that public parking should be available to everyone, whether people park their own vehicles or pay someone else to do it.
Bowman said his department is reviewing one concern raised by the valet-parking businesses: what to do if they're unable to find private parking nearby. City officials didn't look into the availability of private lots in the Short North and other areas, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment