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Council, for now, rejects OTR residential parking program

WVXU

It is back to the drawing board for a proposal to bring residential parking permits to parts of Over-the-Rhine.  Council rejected the ordinance Wednesday.  

Four members voted yes, and three voted no.  It takes five "yes's" to approve such a measure, and two members were absent.

Council Member Chris Seelbach voted no.  He is concerned about parking meters in the neighborhood.

“Our motion said that there would be a maximum of 600 meters, which is already up from an historic number of 500 in Over-the-Rhine,” Seelbach said.  “But the administration under this is proposing 648 meters in Over-the-Rhine.  That number is too high for me.”

Seelbach said $108 a year for a residential permit is too high.  But Mayor John Cranley disagreed.

“That you get to park on a public street at a fraction of the cost,” Cranley said.  “And I say fraction of the cost because if that same spot was available as a meter or auctioned off, it would fetch a lot more than $108 a year.”

Seelbach is planning to reintroduce the program, but wants to increase the number of residential spots to 450.  The previous proposal called for 400.  

The plan will likely make a return trip to Council sometime in the coming weeks.

The plan approved by a committee Monday would have created about 400 residential parking permits.  In addition, there would be 648 parking meter spots and about 200 spots open to anyone in the area that would not require permits and not have meters.

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.