On its face, the relocation of NKU’s Chase Law School and the UK medical school branch to Covington is a wonderful project that will pay dividends to both institutions, their students and faculty, and the region.
But the current proposed location — the Butler Foundation River Center parking lot – cannot and should not be pursued until the impact of the project on parking in the region is studied diligently. In fact, good government, common-sense business practices and local regulations all require it.
It’s no secret that parking in Covington’s Downtown Riverfront area is a mess. Small businesses in the area already suffer from the lack of accessible parking. The OneNKY building added parking pressures, and the removal of the Butler surface lot, about 170 spaces, will add even more pressures. Already, concerns have been raised regarding the impact of reduction of parking access on Convention Center operations, all attributable to the proposed location of the downtown college campus. And those concerns will grow if the plan to expand the convention center comes to fruition.
Covington’s neighborhood development code requires a parking study for the future location of the schools on that property. Responsible planning necessitates a thorough assessment of how new projects affect existing infrastructure. Failing to address increased parking demand risks shifting costs to neighboring entities and local governments, effectively forcing them to subsidize the project…