CLEVELAND — A new parking program in Cleveland started in January. Downtown Cleveland and Ohio City were the first neighborhoods to start the program. It eliminated free weekend parking and increased parking rates to $1.50 per hour.
The city says parking will be available in the Hingetown neighborhood in the coming weeks. Metered parking will only be on the south side of Detroit between West 28th and 29th Streets.
In December, Lucas Reeve, a senior advisor with the City of Cleveland, said the new method should curb illegal parking while also staying competitive with other cities.
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"Many of the other cities sometimes charge $2 or $3 per hour," Reeve said. "We really wanted to make sure in our modernizing process here, we were kind of threading the needle between creating that greater level of accessibility for folks, while at the same time making parking affordable."
As the new program completes its first month, some Downtown businesses say the parking changes are hurting their bottom lines.
We spoke with Danny's Deli owner Sam Gerges. He said the new ParkMobile signs line his deli on West 17th Street and Saint Claire Avenue. He said older customers can't pay for the parking with their flip phones. Customers coming in for a quick pick-up order receive parking tickets.
Gerges said customers have told him directly that they can't visit anymore because the new system is too much of a problem. He said he would like to see the return of meters or, at least, get some spaces for free 15-minute parking.
"I don't know what to do," Gerges said. "I can't stand outside and tell people every day where to park and stuff. It's frustrating. If I were to go out to eat and get a ticket, I would be frustrated with myself."
