Make your voice heard about this issue using petition link below
by Lauren Enda,
For the last several months, I have been speaking at council about the need for more conversation, study, and transparency about the parking garage proposal. Loveland needs to do something about the parking issue, that much we can all agree upon. The proposed garage is one of many, many options available to Loveland. Every other option is less expensive, less permanent, less damaging to the environment and less jarring to the landscape. And every other option would enhance, rather than detract from, Loveland’s brand as a quaint and historic area.
Here is a high-level overview of just one option that would be free to Loveland taxpayers, drastically cut down summer traffic levels in Loveland, provide Loveland businesses even more customers and clients, and maintain our natural, peaceful downtown landscape. The Miami Riverview Park is approximately one mile away from Loveland and it sits on the bike trail. There are hundreds of spaces available – all free of charge. Loveland could mount a marketing and communication plan, teaming with Miami Township, to divert cyclists and walkers coming from 275 to park there and then ride or walk into Loveland – which on a bike takes about a minute. Cyclists or walkers from the east or Route 48 could park there as well without entering Loveland’s downtown area at all.
To get the word out about the parking alternative, we could post temporary signs on the trail directing people to Miami Riverview next time they are in Loveland – we could even include a QR code with a map directing them. We could make up information cards to put on windshields and for businesses to give to their customers. Loveland has a Marketing and Communications Coordinator on staff who could design more ways to get the word out about this idea. If cyclists parked at Miami Riverview, it would free up dozens, if not hundreds, of parking spaces downtown for Loveland residents, and reduce traffic. Miami Riverview is just one option of many. And it is free, easy, available now, with no construction, no environmental damage, and no controversy. Let’s pursue this option first.
A parking committee could outline further options, weighing cost, return on investment, environmental damage, number of spaces, etc… Residents would be happy to talk through more options with members of council at any time. We do not have to choose the most expensive option. In fact, why would we choose the most expensive option? Choosing to spend millions of dollars unnecessarily shows a lack of respect for taxpayers and their money. Council needs to explain their course of action when other options are available. Let’s spend our precious dollars on other higher priority issues – our aging water system, traffic issues, or sorting out the Chestnut property. There are plenty of priorities to choose from that would benefit everyone.
“I chose Loveland as my retirement home. A large part of my decision to move here was the bike trail and the downtown area and I am determined to protect that. I will fight to protect it.”
Lauren Enda
To make speeches and write articles takes a lot of work – and a lot of courage. Partnering with and learning from a wide variety of individuals and organizations helps to learn about the garage and its detrimental impacts. Two of those organizations spoke at City Council on February 8th – the Sierra Club and the Citizens for Rights of the Ohio River Watershed. Both organizations acknowledge that parking must be addressed but saying the issue must be fully studied and the Council must give residents the ability to vote on a parking garage. Contacting Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency, The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, multiple elected officials, and The Economic Development Administration has also widened my knowledge of the issue.
I chose Loveland as my retirement home. A large part of my decision to move here was the bike trail and the downtown area and I am determined to protect that. I will fight to protect it. I want Loveland to succeed. I want Loveland businesses to succeed. I want visitors to enjoy my town as much as I do. And I want everyone to have a place to park. Together, let’s find ways to provide that parking using a rational, systematic approach.
If you want to show your support for a more reasoned approach to the parking issues in Loveland, sign this petition. Council needs to hear from us that we want more data on the parking issue. Thank you.
Petition · Stop the Loveland Garage · Change.org
Lauren Enda lives in Loveland at Hidden Creek.
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