Cleveland City Council caught everyone’s attention Monday when it voted to increase the caps on fees to park Downtown, in neighborhoods and to tailgate on the Municipal Lot.
Council raised the limit for parking Downtown to $8 per hour and up to $5 per hour in city neighborhoods. Meanwhile, city-owned lots, such as the Willard Parking Garage behind City Hall, the North Coast Municipal (Muni) lot and the Canal Basin lot, were also approved for pay hikes. Changes to those three lots will go into effect Oct. 1.
The increases are part of a larger effort to fund and modernize the city’s parking systems by replacing coin-operated meters with smart meters and app payments, said Councilmember Kerry McCormack.
"We want parking to be intuitive, easy and just not a headache, so having the proper fee structure in place to pay for those modernizations," McCormack said.
The measure was brought forth by Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration after a study showed Cleveland had lower parking rates than its peer cities.
What the prices for on-street parking prices will actually be is not yet clear. While the city council set the maximum prices, the mayor is in charge of setting specific pricing, which can include dynamic pricing or higher rates for special events, McCormack said.
Aside from new parking infrastructure and pay cap increases, McCormack cited other changes to parking in Cleveland. City Council is working with the administration to ensure fewer no-parking zones, limit the number of valet zones and improve signage to make parking rules more clear to drivers, he said.
"We need to clean it all up," McCormack said. "Make it as easy to understand and use as possible. The main goal being to attract more people into Downtown."
Council will also allow the city to operate Downtown parking meters on Saturdays and Sundays. That's in an effort to help with turnover to support Downtown businesses and restaurants, McCormack said.
On Wednesday, the city released the following prices for the following garages and lots that will go into effect on Oct. 1:
Willard Park Garage
- 0-60 minutes: $4 flat rate and $1.50 for each additional 30-minute period; $12 daily max; $10 early bird rate
- Special event parking is capped at $60
- Browns game day parking: $40 per space
- General monthly rate for non-city employees: $150
North Coast Municipal (Muni) Lot
- Daily rate for cars, SUVs and small trucks: $5
- Daily rate for RVs, buses and oversized trucks: $35
- Non-city employee monthly rate: $70
- Special event parking is capped at $50
- Browns game day parking: $40 per space
- Overnight rate for RV’s and buses: $75
- Overnight rate for cars: $25
Canal Basin Lot
- Daily rate: $5
- Weekday special event parking (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) is capped at $50
- Browns game day parking: $20 per space
The city said pricing for additional lots and street parking will come soon.
