Privatizing city of cincinnati parking (2013, lease, bankrupt)

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by unusualfire

What do you mean not supporting? If people don't park because of high prices. The company will lower the price. That's universal. They are limited to increase the rates .25 cents every 3 years. If that breaks your bank you should not even be driving at all.

Hi unusualfire--

If you think the company will be that accountable to the city then you're dreaming.

I guarantee you'll start getting complaints almost immediately when parking prices rise - not from ordinary people who will just vote with their feet and shop in the suburbs, but rather business owners in the city who are losing business because parking is prohibitively expensive.

As far as raising the rates 25 cents every three years, by what measurement of time are we talking? 25 cents per hour, 25 cents per half hour, or some other measurement?

I remember going to watch the Hamilton County court of common pleas one morning and over the next three hours I emptied a whole roll of quarters into a street meter because all the nearby parking lots were already filled up. I've been much more selective ever since about my visits to that courthouse despite the rapport I've established with the judges there.

I would hate to see what happens if the parking gets privatized.

[natininja]

I'm skeptical of the plan, but rising rates is not obviously a problem. If people stop coming to a neighborhood, the rates will necessarily come back down. People coming and parking is necessary for a rate increase to work as intended, and if people are coming and parking, it's only a problem for the biggest cheapskates, who are not going to be spending much at the nearby businesses anyway.

[Joeytraveler]

So what happened to the cry of Govt. can't do anything right, let a private company do it and the market decide the price?

[unusualfire]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

Hi unusualfire--

If you think the company will be that accountable to the city then you're dreaming.

I guarantee you'll start getting complaints almost immediately when parking prices rise - not from ordinary people who will just vote with their feet and shop in the suburbs, but rather business owners in the city who are losing business because parking is prohibitively expensive.

As far as raising the rates 25 cents every three years, by what measurement of time are we talking? 25 cents per hour, 25 cents per half hour, or some other measurement?

I remember going to watch the Hamilton County court of common pleas one morning and over the next three hours I emptied a whole roll of quarters into a street meter because all the nearby parking lots were already filled up. I've been much more selective ever since about my visits to that courthouse despite the rapport I've established with the judges there.

I would hate to see what happens if the parking gets privatized.

Why are you commenting on a deal you know nothing about or didn't read?

It's clearly $25 cents an hour.
Schedule 5
http://library.constantcontact.com/d...e-Contract.pdf

[cincylifer]

Originally Posted by natininja

I'm skeptical of the plan, but rising rates is not obviously a problem. If people stop coming to a neighborhood, the rates will necessarily come back down. People coming and parking is necessary for a rate increase to work as intended, and if people are coming and parking, it's only a problem for the biggest cheapskates, who are not going to be spending much at the nearby businesses anyway.

Sorry, I dont for one minute think that rates will ever go down, they will always increase, just like every other city that has privatized parking(indy, chicago, dc, et al)

Its not only meters that are affected, its the lots and garages as well. I am sure the city will get its lump sum payment, and they will still have budget shortfalls, because we dont have good management/leadership in cincinnati, in my opinion.

[natininja]

Originally Posted by cincylifer

Sorry, I dont for one minute think that rates will ever go down, they will always increase, just like every other city that has privatized parking(indy, chicago, dc, et al)

Its not only meters that are affected, its the lots and garages as well. I am sure the city will get its lump sum payment, and they will still have budget shortfalls, because we dont have good management/leadership in cincinnati, in my opinion.

So you should be happy that the "bad management" is being replaced by private management, right?

And private corporations have a profit motive, such that if their product is not profitable, the price will go down. If the price never goes down, that means people are using the parking meters, which means businesses are not hurting. What part of supply and demand do you not understand?

[abr7rmj]

The price of everything rises. Name something that's stayed the same. Heck, the quality of the Cincinnati Enquirer has gone way down the past decade but the price has gone from 35 cents to its current $1.00. Parking meter rates are no different.

Also, I'm certain that technology will be installed in the meters to allow you to pay remotely from your cell. You'd get a text with 10 minutes to go telling you your meter is about to expire. You can act accordingly after that. Taking a roll of quarters with you downtown to feed meters every 45 minutes is a completely archaic and unnecessary thing to do. It would be like taking a roll of quarters to Kroger to pay for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread.

If you're making a quick stop somewhere, pop in a couple of coins to cover your stay. If you're knowingly going to be in the courthouse, a Reds game, a lengthy dinner, a show at Music Hall or Aronoff, etc., then pay to park somewhere long-term. Meters aren't for that stuff any way. Complaining that you can't park at a meter for hours on end with just a handful of coins is strange.

[unusualfire]

^Although lately credit card companies are allowing or companies to charge a fee per transaction. Who knows what they will per transaction years from now.

[cincylifer]

Originally Posted by natininja

So you should be happy that the "bad management" is being replaced by private management, right?

And private corporations have a profit motive, such that if their product is not profitable, the price will go down. If the price never goes down, that means people are using the parking meters, which means businesses are not hurting. What part of supply and demand do you not understand?

First, I fully understand supply and demand. But what I understand even more is data. And the data shows that the rates will continually increase. Why in the heck would I be happy with tossing out a bad manager for a crook? The city is doing fine managing the parking. It's the budget that they suck at, and development.

If the price never goes down, doesn't have a thing to do with supply and demand when it comes to city parking, they will raise the rates because they can. You act as if one can always expect private management to better..yeah right...smdh

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by cincylifer

You act as if one can always expect private management to better..

I would go on a limb and say that natininja is being sarcastic towards those who usually slam city management as being inept at everything, all the while lauding the private sector's efficiency in all things. Just a guess.