This past week, we published a look at what has changed for Mayor Justin Bibb in the four years since he first ran for mayor. We also checked in with his opponent in the Nov. 4 election, Laverne Gore.
Here’s one idea from 2021 that we followed up on. Four years ago, candidate Bibb floated a way to raise more money for public transit: smart parking meters.
It wasn’t the biggest issue in the race, but it illustrated the differences between Bibb and his then-opponent, Kevin Kelley.
More people would pay for on-street parking if they could use a credit card or an app instead of cash, Bibb argued. In one questionnaire, he said the money could support free or subsidized fares for low-income riders. He raised the idea at a 2021 forum as a potential revenue source for transit.
Kelley cast the idea as nice-sounding but unrealistic. General fund revenue belonged in the general fund, where it would pay for city services, he said.
“You can’t just say, we’re going to, I found a new revenue source and we’re going to give it to [the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority],” Kelley said at the 2021 forum. “It just doesn’t work that way.”
“Will that money go to RTA directly? We don’t know yet, right?” Bibb replied at the time. “But it’s a source to look at to explore this in a more creative way locally in Cleveland.”
In 2025, Bibb is mayor and Cleveland has its smart parking meters. What about using that money for transit?
“We’re looking at other ideas, including to help fund our mobility plan,” Bibb told Signal Cleveland recently. “So that is still a possibility.”
The city’s mobility plan, Cleveland Moves, focuses on expanding bike lanes and making streets safer for pedestrians and transit riders.
Would the city hand that parking money over to RTA?
“Not at this time,” the mayor said. “That is not in the cards.”
