While the city plans to increase rates at the parking garage, one resident hopes to open a discussion on religious privilege by proposing an end to free Sunday parking.
Plans to increase parking fees at the city’s garage on East Washington Street by 25 cents haven’t stopped one Athens resident from proposing his own alternative.
Currently, the city does not require people to pay for parking in the garage on Sunday, which lead Jeremiah Knopp, a 19-year-old Athens resident, to create a petition on www.ipetitions.com Sunday proposing the city end free parking on Sundays in lieu of the rate increase.
“I don’t think it’s fair that I have to subsidize the Sunday parkers just because some people go to church on that day,” Knopp said.
Council members authorized the rate increase at their meeting March 9. If all goes according to plan, the rate will increase from 50 cents to 75 on May 1.
Knopp said in a Reddit comment that he estimates this change would cost him $100 a year.
Aside from creating the petition on ipetition.com, Knopp posted it to the Athens, Ohio, Reddit and Facebook.
Since, the petition has gained five signatures.
“I can only think of one reason it would be free on Sunday’s (sic),” Timothy Lewis commented on the petition. “And religion shouldn’t grant people privilege.”
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said the garage is closed on Sunday as that is the structure’s slowest days, meaning it isn’t worth city funds to pay a parking enforcement officer on those days.
“If you go in there before or after the church crowd, it’s pretty empty most of the time,” Wiehl said.
Knopp said based on how many signatures the petition acquires within a month, he might present it to Athens City Council members.
Athens City Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd ward, said a petition would be unlikely to sway council members.
“We’re already moving forward,” he said. “I just don’t think a petition at this point would change our minds or do any good.”
Risner added council members considered charging for parking on Sundays, but determined it wouldn’t raise the money they need.
“The question becomes ‘Where are you going to find us a quarter of a million dollars?’ ” he said. “And if you look at our budget, it’s pretty tight.”
Knopp said he fears a religious bias in the city might prevent the petition from gaining traction.
“I have very little faith that my fellows in Athens County will see the validity in my petition,” he said. “I doubt that they’ll see the lack of fairness (in letting Sunday parkers park for free.)”
He said he doesn’t plan on publicizing the petition very much beyond Facebook and Reddit, but might set up a table on Court Street over the weekend to present the petition to passers-by.
More than anything, Knopp said just wants to open up a dialogue about religious rights and privileges.
“On the off chance that it did go, I would just like to point out that all entities and groups are very much equal,” he said.
He pointed out that there is no free parking on Saturdays, which is the traditional Jewish day of worship.
He said these privileges should not just extend to religious people, but everyone.
“The Smiling Skull has just as much validity as any of the churches in Athens,” he said. Just because some people get some sort of spiritual benefit from going to church, doesn’t mean the rest of us have to pay for it.”
@wtperkins
wp198712@ohio.edu
