Monday, July 17, 2000
Meter plan views mixed in Newport
By Terry Flynn
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — Police Chief Tom Fromme was anything but surprised by Newport business owners' mixed reactions to his proposal for 700 new parking meters in the city's core area.
At last week's city commission meeting, the chief presented a plan to replace the remaining outdated and mostly broken parking meters scattered around town with new equipment provided at no charge by Central Parking.
Peter Garrett, who owns and operates a gunsmithing business on Monmouth Street, said he had some problems with installing new meters where visitors now have two-hour free parking.
“If new parking meters are part of a larger plan to improve the business district, I would be in favor of them,” Mr. Garrett said. “But if it's just a way for the city to make some money without helping businesses, I don't like it. ...The city removed the meters on Monmouth Street years ago to boost business but it didn't help.”
He also pointed out that a study by a team of planners from the University of Cincinnati several years ago indicated that the city already had ample parking in the business district.
Mark Sandfoss, who with his wife, Marla, owns Detroit Joe's Restaurant on 9th Street between Monmouth and Saratoga, said he would be glad to see new meters in the vicinity of the restaurant.
“It's better than having broken meters where people park all day,” he said. “We need nearby parking spaces for our customers during the day, especially at lunch.”
But Roger Peterson, who operates two of the three remaining adult entertainment bars in Newport, was less than impressed with the
plan.
“There's no need for parking meters in the central business district, when no one is parking here now,” Mr. Peterson said. “You can drive down Monmouth Street and always find parking places during the day.”
“I can understand the meters closer to the riverfront, but when you have a lot of empty buildings further uptown and can't get people to stop, putting in parking meters again isn't going to help anyone, and I don't see them making much money for the city,” he said.
Chief Fromme pointed out that it is virtually impossible for his department to enforce the two-hour parking on Monmouth Street with current personnel, permitting business employees or others to park all day in the same spot.
“It would cost about $100,000 a year to properly enforce the two-hour (free) parking, and that doesn't make any sense,” he said. “The logical alternative is modern, electronic parking meters.”
The city at one time had meters throughout the core area, but there are fewer than 300 still standing today. The chief said about 85 percent of those are inoperable and not worth repairing.
His plan calls for Central Parking, which handles the parking at the Newport Aquarium and Newport on the Levee project, to remove the old meters, install 700 new meters, and handle the maintainance and collection chores as well as write meter violation citations.
“They estimate the cost at about $350,000, all of which they would absorb,” Chief Fromme said. “It wouldn't cost the city a dime. Central Parking would be repaid through meter revenues, and eventually the city would as sume ownership of the meters.”
Visitors would have to feed the meters, either with coins or possibly with special cards, probably from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
City commissioners have not signed off on the parking meter plan, waiting for the chief to provide some additional information and hold a public meeting with business owners to gain their input.
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