COLUMBUS (WCMH) – After 40 years in the Short North, Dinah Williams is ready to hit the road over the parking situation on her street.

“If I could solve that problem and know I had a parking space, I wouldn’t be thinking about moving someplace,” Williams said.

Williams said she moved into her house decades ago while working downtown. At 73 years old, she’s now retired, and parking on her street has become difficult.

“Most days I cannot go to the grocery store and come back and unload my groceries, because people are parked all the way up here to the sign,” Williams said.

At night, especially on weekends, Williams said the situation is even worse. She described sitting in a Tim Horton’s or Wendy’s parking lot with her iPad and a cup of coffee until 3 a.m., waiting for the bar crowds to vacate her street and others off High Street.

“Everybody that gets a ticket, I would like to make them have to live in this neighborhood for just a month,” Williams said. “They would know never to park here again. You know, how frustrating it is to not be able to use your house.”

Williams joined a few dozen other people Wednesday night at Columbus City Hall, as a public meeting was held in the council chambers to discuss the Short North Parking Pilot Program.

The city is working to implement the program going forward to find ways to protect permit parking for neighbors, while balancing the needs of businesses, employees and visitors to the Short North.

One woman who spoke during the public comment period said she was frustrated with part of the proposal, which involves limiting the number of parking permits per household to two. As a grad student working full-time, she said she lives with roommates to keep down her costs.

“It’s bad enough that we have to pay for the privilege to park in front of our homes in a residential area, but it is immoral and wrong to force people out of their homes who can’t afford to live under gentrification that is being codified by the city,” she said.

On her way home from the meeting, Williams was fortunate, finding a spot right in front of her house.

She said she hopes the city would find solutions to the issue, whether that means making streets like hers available only to permit parkers or increasing the cost of meters to drive more people to parking garages.

“I mean, that won’t take the whole crowd, but it will certainly help,” Williams said.

The city will be holding several open houses so people can learn more about plans for parking in the Short North. The first one is scheduled for Thursday, March 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the Goodale Park Shelterhouse.