Thirty Athens residents have signed a petition calling on city council to adopt a new pilot program loosening the 24-hour parking limit on city streets.
Joan Kraynanski, a member of the West Side Community Association, first requested implementing a pilot program last month that would allow residents on the north and west sides of the city to apply for 72-hour parking permits if they didn't have off-street parking, but council members raised concerns because the change would only apply to certain residents.
The new version of the measure, which was suggested to council members Monday night, would apply to all residents who don't have off-street parking.
“It’s not sustainable to have people move their cars everyday, especially if they are gone over the weekend, they’ll come back to parking tickets,” Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, said.
Kraynanski said there have been four attempts to implement a parking permit program in Athens since 1995.
“I think it’s finally about time that we make this happen,” Kraynanski said.
Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-At Large, hoped a permit program would encourage prospective home buyers to purchase houses that don’t have any off-street parking.
Paula Horan-Moseley, the service-safety director, was against the proposal.
“I remember why the 24-hour rule was introduced to begin with and that was to stop storage parking,” Horan-Moseley said. “I think a permit system has failed to be put in place four times because it’s not necessary and what we have works.”
The members of the transportation committee will work alongside the mayor’s office and Kraynanski to work out the technicalities of the pilot program and move toward drafting an ordinance.
Council members also outlined changes this year to the annual Ohio Brew Week, a nine-day festival that brings in about 45 Ohio breweries for residents and tourists to try.
Brandon Thompson, the executive director of Ohio Brew Week, requested that the last day of the festival shuts down at midnight this year, instead of at 11 p.m. like previous years.
“This year we are having more breweries and expecting more people so everyone will want to stay later,” Thompson said.
Thompson suggested adding a second acoustic stage to this year's event.
At the end of the meeting, council members and Athens Mayor Steve Patterson thanked the first responders to the fire at the Carriage Hill apartment complex.
The fire occurred Sunday night and affected 30 apartment units. Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said many of the families needed children's clothes, and that donations could be dropped off in Baker University Center.
There were no casualties as a result of the fire.
