City Announces the Clean and Safe Corridors Initiative on Parsons Ave.

Published on April 03, 2025

An aerial shot of Columbus City Hall

Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and City Council President Shannon G. Hardin today announced the Clean and Safe Corridor initiative, a strategic effort to improve public safety, fuel economic prosperity and promote quality of life along key business corridors. Work began on Parsons Avenue between E. Livingston Avenue and Hosack Street on March 24 and will conclude April 4.

“The Clean and Safe Corridors initiative represents a proactive, collaborative approach to addressing our community’s needs,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “By deploying a strike force of city resources and engaging local businesses invested in a neighborhood’s safety and success, this initiative will create safer, cleaner, more vibrant corridors that will benefit the entire City of Columbus.”

The City partnered with small business owners along Parsons Avenue to identify specific neighborhood needs up and down the street. Multiple city departments then applied a two-week concentrated focus on the corridor. Columbus crews have filled potholes, picked up trash, addressed specific safety issues, inspected businesses, improved code violations and more, providing services valued at more than $164,500 in infrastructure and labor. The City awarded the South Side Thrive Collaborative a $165,000 grant to sustain safety and cleanliness efforts in the neighborhood.

“I grew up on the South Side and my son goes to preschool at the Reeb Center, so I see firsthand how Parsons Avenue is a canary in the coalmine for our City’s growing pains: dynamic small businesses and committed community leaders impacted by the lack of affordable housing and opportunity for all their neighbors,” said Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin. “I was so proud to convene residents last year who developed this partnership with South Side Thrive Collaborative, which is a model for how we must walk alongside changing neighborhoods before their safety and quality of life issues become even harder to address.”

During the two-week activation, the City implemented the following repairs and interventions:

Safety

  • 25 cars impounded, 69 citations issued and 56 72-hour warnings for parking violations
  • Two arrests for felony charges and one search warrant executed
  • One handgun and 1g of Fentanyl recovered
  • Numerous citizen contacts, field interviews, and traffic and pedestrian stops
  • Canvassing by the Office of Violence Prevention and the Columbus Public Health HOT team to understand safety concerns for residents and businesses

Cleanliness and Beautification

  • 78 man-hours of pothole patching and 55 man-hours of street sweeping
  • 541 bags of litter and 16.76 tons of bulk refuse collected, along with ADA ramp cleaning
  • 11 intersections enhanced with new crosswalks, stop bars and lane control arrows
  • 117 new street signs mounted and hung
  • 34 trees planted, 24 trees pruned, 5 dying and damaged trees removed, 17 stumps ground, as well as brush cutting

Property Inspections

  • 311 building inspections
  • 15 friendly code enforcement letters issued, informing building owners how they may bring their properties up to code compliance
  • 22 code enforcement follow-ups
  • 5 buildings referred for graffiti removal by the city

In 2025, the Clean and Safe Corridor initiative will activate along three additional commercial corridors, which will be announced at the 2025 State of the City Address on April 16. By focusing resources on each corridor, this initiative will ensure concentrated, high-impact improvements tailored to each area’s unique challenges and opportunities. 

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