Medina considers ending 2-hour parking limit in downtown

Village officials say some spend more than 2 hours visiting multiple stores; Limit is difficult to enforce

MEDINA – Village officials are considering ending the 2-hour parking limit in the downtown. Many people visit multiple stores in the downtown, including bars and restaurants and stay for several hours, Mayor Mike Sidari said.

The parking limit also would be difficult to enforce, tying up the police department, said Village Trustee Tim Elliott.

Business owners and their employees should be encouraged to not park on Main Street so those spots are available, Elliott said.

Owen Toale, a village trustee and former publisher of the Medina Journal-Register which was on Main Street, would like to see the 2-hour limit stay in place.

“I think you’re asking for trouble,” he said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.

Toale is concerned some business owners and employees would park on Main Street for eight hours or longer.

When he was in charge of the former newspaper in Medina, he had the employees park at the lot in the Canal Basin.

Trustee Marguerite Sherman said many people spend hours in the downtown.

“I wouldn’t want to get a ticket if I went to a restaurant,” she said.

Mayor Sidari said he wants to hear from Medina Area Partnership, which represents many of the businesses. For now, he wants to get the discussion going about whether the 2-hour limit should be eliminated.

Elliott said it would have an added benefit of removing the signs for 2-hour parking. The board has told by the state Department of Transportation there are too many signs in the downtown.