COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – After consecutive violent weekends in May led to 10 people injured by gunfire, the City of Columbus ramped up safety measures.
Now, a few months later, some of those restrictions have been rolled back.
“We’ve seen growth in the amount of businesses, growth in the amount of visitors, and having that growth has compounded the need for safety solutions,” Short North Alliance Executive Director Betsy Pandora said.
Pandora said it is thankful that the city stepped up to reduce the violence.
There are still parking restrictions on Fridays and Saturdays along the east side of North High Street between Goodale Street and Fifth Avenue from midnight until 4 a.m.
“People have definitely come in here, asking me lots of questions like, ‘Where’s it safe to park,’ like, ‘Where can we go,'” Black Brick Bar manager Jordan Leigh said.
Columbus police said patrol officers are in that area and that there are portable lights and cameras throughout the Short North.
“With the bigger, like, police presence is, like, I don’t really go out,” Hilliard resident Devora Godfrey said. “I just stay at home and come out sometimes, but when I do, there’s a lot of police around.”
In a statement, Columbus Department of Public Safety Director Kate McSweeney-Pishotti said the city, the Short North Alliance, neighbors, and visitors came together to send a message that violence will not be tolerated.
McSweeney-Pishotti’s statement, in full:
“The Short North is safe and as vital as ever. The city, Short North Alliance, neighbors and visitors united to send a clear message that violent, disruptive behavior would not be tolerated and we followed through with strict enforcement. We believe the community heeded our warning and that enforcement has proven effective with no major incidents since. Our collaboration with neighborhood leaders in the Short North and around the city continues and we will adjust as needed.”
Columbus Director of Public Safety Kate McSweeney-Pishotti
“The Short North Arts District is an incredibly vibrant part of our city and it is safe the vast majority of the time,” Pandora said. “Since the City of Columbus has instituted these safety measures, we have seen a noteworthy decrease and we’re pleased that the City of Columbus has taken safety so seriously in the Short North.”
Leigh said that after the restrictions were put into place, the bar lost a lot of business.
“We were shutting down and I feel, like, for the two weeks after they did that, we just saw a real downturn in, like, profits in this business in general,” Leigh said.
Now, Leigh said business is returning.
“Hopefully we’re bouncing back,” Leigh said. “Hopefully, this is the start of a trend back towards, you know, where we were before last year.”
As McSweeney-Pishotti said, adjustments to the restrictions and safety measures will be made as needed.
“The last two weekends, again, like, I don’t look… if I look out the window, I don’t see a cop,” Leigh said. “That’s the difference, I guess, at that point. If I’m looking out from here, I don’t see anyone. A couple weeks ago, I looked out from here and I saw like 40 of them (police officers).”