Explanation
Background:
This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to make payment to the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District (Capital Crossroads SID) to participate in the Downtown C-Pass Program pursuant to Ordinance 1465-2018 approved by Columbus City Council on May 21, 2018.
The Director of the Department of Development entered into the Downtown C-Pass Program Agreement on May 24, 2018.
The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District of Columbus (Capital Crossroads SID) has developed a transit pass program called the Downtown C-Pass Program (the Program) for eligible employers and employees in downtown Columbus in partnership with the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). The Program will last for 31 months from June 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020.
The goal of the Program is to proactively address parking shortages in the Capital Crossroads SID that threaten the further development of Downtown Columbus. By shifting commuters from personal vehicles to public transportation, thousands of parking spaces could be opened that would encourage higher commercial office occupancy rates, provide cost-effective transportation to employees, improve air quality, and reduce roadway congestion. The Program is the largest of its kind in the nation and could become a model for other cities to follow to sustainably address transportation challenges by encouraging more transit use instead of continuing to build expensive parking garages that take up developable land.
The City is in the second year of a three year $80,000 annual sponsorship commitment to the Program. Additionally, since some City employees work in buildings that are within the Capital Crossroads SID boundaries but do not pay SID assessments, the City will pay $40.50 per eligible employee in the following City buildings: 77 North Front Street, 345 South High Street, 373 South High Street, 375 South Hi...
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