Do you have difficulty finding parking on the periphery of the Denison University campus near downtown Granville? If so, there may soon be a solution.
Granville Village Council plans to vote Oct. 1 on an update of its Residential Parking Permit program, first created around 2000 to make parking easier for residents who live in homes near the campus. A public hearing will take place at the council meeting, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the same day.
Before the creation of the Residential Parking Permit program, anyone could park anywhere they desired, said Village Manager Herb Koehler.
This became a problem for some Granville residents.
Limited off-street parking spaces near the downtown area, such as driveways or garages, mean that some full-time residents must park on the street. In some cases, that has created conflicts with Denison students who want to park near their dorms in residential areas with little off-street parking, such as Plum Street and West College Street. That was a key reason the council implemented a permit parking program 25 years ago.
One problem with the original program is that it allowed anyone with a permit to park in any area that required a permit. The update will designate specific color-coded zones with permits for specific areas of the village, such as permits for only the zones where Summit Street or Plum Street lie.
Since some former Denison classroom buildings on the South Quad were renovated to make them dormitories, “there are a lot more students in that area wanting to park close to their dorms, which I completely understand,” Koehler said.
But it became a challenge for residents in the 300 block of W. Broadway from S. Cherry Street to S. Plum Street and in the 400 block of W. Broadway from S. Plum Street to the westernmost edge of Sugarloaf Park.
Students are free to park in the area during the day, but they are prohibited from parking overnight from midnight to 6 a.m., said Koehler.
“We’re being respectful about this,” Koehler said. “We’re issuing warnings first until students in the community get accustomed to this change.”
But the 25-year-old program has some flaws, and it’s also an issue on a few more streets than in the past.
A parking permit currently allows residents to park in any permitted area in the village. This presented a challenge for residents who want to park close to their homes because the spots closest to their homes might be taken by someone from another permit area.
The proposed updated Residential Parking Permit program is managed primarily by the Granville Police Department. The village staff has sought to revamp the program for the past three years, and the proposal would color-code parking in four zones. Each home identified in a specific zone will be issued two parking permits.
“For example, if I have a green parking pass, I can only park in those permit spaces that are in the green zone,” Koehler said.
In the past, residents would sometimes lose permits or exchange them with neighbors or share them with visitors, Koehler said, because the physical tags weren’t tied to a particular area or vehicle.
If the council approves the changes, stickers will be issued with a permit number linked to a specific vehicle, rather than physical tags that could be easily moved from one vehicle to another.
With the implementation of the new Residential Parking Permit program, Koehler hopes residents who face parking challenges will have better options.
The vote on the ordinance was tabled during the Aug. 20 and Sept. 3 council meetings.
At the Aug. 20 meeting, a resident requested the addition of permit parking on portions of Prospect and Maple streets. The village staff reviewed the request and denied it, noting ample parking spaces on those streets.
It was also tabled during the Sept. 3 meeting because only five council members were present, and Mayor Melissa Hartfield, who is a council member, wanted to ensure everyone was on the same page regarding the matter.
Donna Chang writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.