Downtown City Parking Decks First Hour Free

The City is now offering free parking for the first hour in any city-owned parking deck, plus a 5-minute grace period. The initiative will encourage visitors to spend more time at Downtown businesses, without watching the clock, said Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic.

The announcement acknowledge the "boom" in business in the city’s principal employment and entertainment district.

"Employment has nearly doubled in Downtown Akron," said the Mayor - citing Greater Akron Chamber figures showing growth from 15,000 Downtown workers in 1995 to 31,000 workers presently.

"As a result of this growth, we need to support the retail growth that has occurred and that we want to see in the future," said the Mayor. The Downtown Akron Partnership lists 90 retail businesses within its boundaries - including restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, stores, clubs and bank branches. www.downtownakron.com

Plusquellic first initiated free parking in all city owned decks and lots in 2002 for times after 6pm weekdays, and all day Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays. "This has worked well for downtown businesses," said the Mayor. "This new initiative will improve even more the opportunities for small businesses to succeed, and continue to hire more workers."

City parking decks are managed by Ampco which has experience in the nation’s downtown business districts, and reports that such free parking initiatives helps reserve street metered parking for the short-trips that meters are intended to accommodate.

"Our experiment this past year with new meters that accept credit cards has been very successful," says Akron Public Service Director Rick Merolla. "We will be expanding our use of Pay-by-Space meters downtown in 2011 as well."

Mayor Plusquellic also says that the City will continue to expand street angled parking on South Main Street and other downtown streets.

Records from Akron’s Income Tax Division which collects employment data, show that the amount of income tax collected in Downtown Akron alone has grown 251 percent since 1991. "This means that the city’s investments in Downtown are paying the equivalent of salaries for 137 police officers," said Plusquellic. "These are officers who are deployed across the city’s neighborhoods."

As the county’s largest entertainment district Downtown will also welcome over 4-million visitors again in 2011.

"This means jobs," said Plusquellic, "Jobs for the hospitality industry in particular, which has a billion-dollar impact in Summit County alone."