Business owners on Chardon Square have been asked to spare a thought for retail and food establishments when parking.
Business owners on Chardon Square have been asked to spare a thought for retail and food establishments when parking.
In a May 13 email, Sylvia McGee, president of the Chardon Square Association, said some employees of businesses on the square are utilizing the parking spots in front of shops and restaurants, and not leaving enough spots for shoppers and diners.
McGee said the city planned to send a courtesy letter asking for cooperation from businesses on the square in finding spots to park that are not directly in front of shops and eateries on Main Street, McGee said.
Those spaces, on the west side of the square, are subject to a two-hour parking limit.
“With the absence of a meter maid and no intent of replacing that position, there is no one to enforce the two-hour parking rule,” McGee told CSA members.
Chardon Police Chief Scott Niehus said although the city’s parking attendant – who made chalk marks denoting how long cars were parked in the time-limited spaces – recently retired, a change in Ohio law means the practice of chalking is no longer allowed.
“(The change) made parking enforcement more difficult because you’re not allowed to touch the car with any apparatus to mark it,” Niehus said.
In the meantime, police officers will be intermittently enforcing parking limits, especially during summer months as activities on the square increase. His department is also aggressively researching electronic chalking methods, which may include software that photographs and timestamps license plates and can alert law enforcement officers to vehicles that have overstayed their welcome in short-term parking, Niehus said.
He added the city’s enforcement of parking time limits is not a revenue generator.
“It’s 100% based on turnover up on that particular area in town,” Niehus said.
Those taking up short-term spaces on the square are not generally from outside the area, he said, adding if they can comply with requests from Main Street shops, that helps until a new enforcement solution can be rolled out.
A 2017 survey by Chardon Tomorrow found at that time only about 40% of the parking spaces on the square are occupied, except for peak times when lots on Main Street are 80 to 90 percent full.
In her email, McGee said parking is available in the alley behind Main Street shops, in municipal parking and across the street on the east side of the square.
“The purpose of the (city’s) letter is to also spread awareness of the situation and to show consideration towards fellow businesses,” McGee said.
