Downtown is not only expanding business but also paid parking. A parking garage is available and new parking meters will be installed by the end of November. Both parking options are costly. Some people may prefer one over the other. Zachary Downes tells us why.

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Parking can be expensive.

The City of Kent’s downtown area is still growing and requires more available parking for the public.

Kent City Council passed a project idea in October to have new parking meters installed around the downtown area, limiting the amount of free parking.

“The meter parking rate will be $1.00 per hour,” Director of Community Development Bridget Susel said. ” The rate was determined by looking at rates charged in 11 other Ohio communities that utilize an on-street paid parking meter system.  9 of the 11 charged a $1.00 per hour.  This rate was approved by Council in October.”

Susel also said that the project was to keep from people parking for long periods of time. This would help businesses in downtown see more business because people would not be able to park at meters for longer than two hours.

PARTA is also helping with parking expansion for downtown. PARTA built the PARTA Parking Garage on South Depeyster Street.

PARTA Manager of Operations and Information Technology Joey Yensel said that PARTA offers three different parking permits to the public.

“The most affordable one is the 30 dollar a month pass,” Yensel said. “It’s 14 hours a day, theres three shifts that you can pick from with in and outs.”

Essentially, the parking garage pass equals out to one dollar a day for one month.

The purpose of the parking garage and the parking meters in downtown Kent is to bring more business to the area.

Yensel said that PARTA is working with the city in order to help provide more options to park. PARTA already works with Bricco, a restaurant located on Erie Street, to have valet parking.

Both options are affordable for people visiting the downtown area but one seems more cost effective.