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Delivery drivers urge Columbia to ease short-term curb rules after $50 ticket; city says fixes are coming
Summary
A recent $50 ticket to a DoorDash driver and an online petition prompted public comment at Columbia's council meeting calling for clearer short-term loading zones, updated parking-app information and more grace for delivery drivers. City officials said improvements and communication initiatives are underway.
A DoorDash driver who received a $50 ticket for stopping briefly in downtown Columbia urged the City Council on Tuesday to create clearer, fairer short-term loading options for app-based delivery drivers.
"This is a $50 parking ticket that I got for no area parking," Bill Fry said during public input, describing a delivery stop he said was commonly used by USPS, UPS and restaurant delivery drivers. Fry described himself as a recent college graduate working to make ends meet and said the ticket prompted him to start a petition that collected more than 180 signatures in its first month calling for smarter parking policies.
Fry told council he wants several low-cost changes: update the Passport parking app to reflect free weekend parking except in certain areas; provide a 10-minute grace period after a paid session ends; add clearer street signage; and reserve short-term loading zones for delivery drivers. "Reconsider the cost of tickets," Fry said, noting that fines of $25 to $50 can be a serious setback for students and workers.
Mayor Daniel J. Rickman and other council members said staff are already working on some of Fry's suggestions. The mayor noted that some loading zones exist but may not be well used or understood and that city parking staff have begun outreach. "Some of it is communicating it and making sure that people understand where it is and when they can use it and how they can use it," Mayor Rickman said. "That's one of the things that we're working through."
Council members also discussed bike-share and ebike availability in earlier agenda items; in response to a council question, planning staff said the bike-share system was "very, very close" to being operational again but likely would not be ready for an upcoming weekend event.
City staff and the mayor encouraged continued engagement and suggested that delivery drivers and businesses send specific improvement suggestions to parking staff. The transcript records a cordial exchange: the mayor thanked Fry for raising his concerns and for following up with parking staff, who had already contacted him.
The council did not take a formal vote on parking policy changes at the meeting; officials said changes to communications, signage, loading-zone hours and the parking app were being implemented as part of an ongoing, "living" rollout of a new parking system.
