With Covington’s push to market itself as a desirable urban area for business relocation, City leaders have emphasized the importance of expanding parking infrastructure, while also repurposing underutilized parking spaces to better suit the needs of the public and incoming businesses.
At a special meeting held on Wednesday, the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority voted unanimously to approve a resolution to bring an order before the Covington City Commission to sell and remove the meters at the parking lot on 425 Madison Ave. There are eight meters at the lot on 425 Madison Ave.
According to CMVPA Executive Director Kyle Snyder, more available monthly parking spaces at the 425 Madison Ave. lot would generate more income for the City as opposed to the low-performing, transient short-term parking provided by the metered spaces.
Snyder said he is drafting an order to bring before the Board. The next action would be for the Board to authorize selling the meters in an upcoming legislative meeting.
“We’re trying to use City assets to give the best possible solutions for parking in Covington,” Snyder said.
The lot holds 32 spaces, with eight spaces occupied by parking meters. The other 24 are under contract with the City. Nine of the monthly spots are being regularly utilized by parkers.
The Morgan Building is an office building and office tenants typically require longer parking windows due to the nature of their work. With a new business slated to move back in to the Morgan Building, Snyder expects all 24 of the monthly parking spots to be utilized. The majority of the 24 spots have been underutilized due to the effects of COVID-19 on office work.
San Francisco-based ABM Parking Services is the company in charge of managing most paid parking within Covington. ABM manages the monthly parking spots next to The Morgan Building.
The meters are open parking Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on the weekends.
The CMVPA and Snyder said the meters are generally low performing, and are rarely advertised as a “place for short term meter parking.” The spots are often used by members of Trinity Escopial Church, and occasionally by patrons of the LaRosa’s pizzeria location on Madison Ave. First Christian Church on W. 5th Street and occupants of the Morgan Building have also been requesting the CMVPA for more parking spaces at 425 Madison Ave.
The cost of installing new parking meters would be approximately $900. The CMVPA and Snyder said that the metered spaces would be better suited as monthly parking spaces because there is greater demand for more monthly parking within Covington, with more long-term tenants relocating to the City.
