Friday, September 29, 2000

Plenty of parking to open downtown

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Riverfront spaces will number 2,400

By Jeff McKinney
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        If the Cincinnati Bengals could trade parking spaces for touchdowns, the team might be sporting a winning record.

        Downtown commuters will soon gain access to about 2,400 new riverfront parking spaces, with 1,500 of them debuting Sunday when the Bengals host the Miami Dolphins at Paul Brown Stadium.

Paul Bex lays conduit on land that will soon be a parking lot at Central Avenue and Pete Rose Way. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        Another 850 spaces will become available in December when the city opens a lot at the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Pete Rose Way, the former Crosset Produce site.

        The extra parking will give downtown workers and visitors access to almost 2,000 more spaces than before construction on the riverfront began two years ago, and at more affordable rates.

        Moreover, the additional parking might put pressure on downtown parking operators — particularly those north of Third Street — to stabilize or even lower rates.

        Construction of Paul Brown Stadium, Fort Washington Way and the loss of some downtown parking garages in recent years greatly cut the number of spaces while downtown employment increased.

        That in turn, observers say, provided parking compa nies an opening to raise fees.

        The latest additions mean that there will be about 6,900 parking spaces along the riverfront by December, up from about 5,000 before the construction began in 1997.

        “This is great news for downtown commuters,” said John Schneider, transportation adviser at Downtown Cincinnati Inc., the group charged with bringing more shoppers, workers and vitali ty to downtown.

        Hamilton County will open riverfront lots B, C, D, E and F, all south of Second Street. Parkers can pay $3 a day, or monthly fees ranging from $20 to $65.

        Executives at Central Parking, which will manage the lots, said the expansion could lead to lower prices in the central business district.

        “I could possibly see that happening,” said Jeff Jones, general manager.
       

       

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