Department of Administrative Services General Services

Riffe Center Parking

Public parking is available in the attached Riffe Center garage which may be entered from Front Street, or in the Statehouse parking garage which is connected to the Riffe Center via an underground walkway. Additionally, several parking garages and lots are within a two-to-four-block walking area.

Riffe Center Parking Garage to be Automated July 1

A new and easy way to pay for parking is coming to the Riffe Center Garage on July 1. An automated payment system will service parkers using the Riffe Center Garage, potentially making it quicker to exit the facility.

Upon completion, the Riffe Center Garage will be among the state-of-the-art parking facilities in Columbus. The new system will be easy to use and accommodate high volume use with speedy transactions.

The parking garage will be closed for installation of the automated parking machines beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, June 28. The garage will re-open by 6 a.m. Monday, July 1. For a few weeks after the transition, security officers will be visible and available near the visitor exit to assist with questions or concerns. Paid parking attendants will no longer service the parking facility; however, attempts are being made to relocate the current garage staff.

VISITING PARKERS: Daily or hourly parkers are encouraged to take their parking ticket with them and use the “Pay-on-Foot Pay Station,” which will be available inside the Riffe Center on the third-floor parking garage entrance. Paying in advance of getting into your car will quicken your exit at the gate. A “Pay Station” also will be located at the Front Street exit.

RESERVE PARKERS: Reserve parkers must obtain a parking hangtag to hang on their rearview mirror to enter the garage on or after July 1. Hangtags will be distributed as soon as they arrive, which is expected to be during the week of June 17. Current parking passes, commonly referred to as “pucks” or “bricks,” must be returned to Riffe Center Building Management after July 1 and no later than July 12.

RESERVE PARKERS EXITING AT THE WALL STREET GATE: No changes will be made at this gate. No Pay Station is necessary because this exit is only available for reserve parkers.

The system will function 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The machines will accept cash (up to $20 bills) and MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover Card credit cards. The machines will not accept coins. A “Lost Ticket” button will be available on the pay station for visiting parkers who misplace their parking garage ticket. The parking fee for a lost ticket is $13, which is the maximum daily parking fee. For assistance, press the “Call” button.

For questions, please contact Brian Hammen, senior facility manager of the Vern Riffe Center, at 614.644.9854 or by email at Brian.Hammen@das.ohio.gov.

Automated Payment Instructions

How the new process will work for the Riffe Center Garage parkers:

1. Enter the Riffe Center Garage and pull parking ticket from machine. (Gate goes up.)
2. Proceed to a parking stall on any of the garage levels.
3. When leaving vehicles, take the parking ticket with you if you plan to pay at the Pay-on-Foot Pay Station inside the Riffe Center on the third floor near the parking garage entrance.
4. Complete your visit or reason for parking in the Riffe Center Garage.

Parking payment options

Pay-on-Foot Pay Station inside the Riffe Center

1. Proceed to the Pay-on-Foot Pay Station conveniently located on the third floor of the Riffe Center near the parking garage entrance.
2. Insert parking ticket and make payment with cash or credit card.
3. Remove parking ticket and receipt.

4. TAKE YOUR PARKING TICKET WITH YOU TO EXIT THE GARAGE.
5. Proceed to vehicle and drive to the gate at the Front Street exit.

6. Insert parking ticket into machine and exit. (Gate goes up.)

Pay Station at the exit

1. Proceed to the Pay Station by vehicle at the Front Street exit.
2. Insert parking ticket and make payment with cash or credit card.
3. Remove parking ticket and receipt and exit. (Gate goes up.)