Fountain Square Garage

Convenient, low fees but no charging stations for electric cars. Other garages nearby have them. IF and when this location adds these charging stations I shall grant five stars. Otherwise, I shall park elsewhere.

I tailgated before the Cincinnati vs. Seahawks game next to this garage. The spot was a prime location to be able to get out of the game and back to the car quickly. Also, we could get out of the horrible end-​of-​game traffic fairly quickly (we were on I-​75/​I-​71 in less than 10 min.)

I parked here while being a guest at the Westin. There were some orange cones in several spots near the office but one spot was free (with no cone) so of course, I parked there. As I walked from my car to the elevator, I saw two workers walk over to my car but never informed me if there was a concern with me parking there.
I had a gut feeling. One of those feelings that you have right before something bad happens. The Midwestern girl in me decided to go ahead and proceed upstairs thinking that the men were professionals and had only the best intentions for their work establishment.
I should have listened to my gut because in the morning I had a nice gift from the attendants. A milkshake — or vomit — or something else disgusting was tossed all along the side of my driver’s side window and handle. Sorry Hertz!

So, these people charged us ten dollars to park here and then, we lost the ticket, and they charge us $ 16 to exit even though you can’t enter unless you pay them the $ 10 entrance fee. They allowed us to speak to management but then the management and they told us they couldn’t help at all and made us ruin the whole night. This place is convenient but terrible. If there is any other option… TAKE IT. that is all.

Another reason not to go downtown for any reason: after the show last night, Fountain Square Garage only had 1 gate working. Bad idea to automate equipment if you aren’t prepared to maintain it. It took over an hour to get out of the garage with 5 of us sitting in the car. They should have opened the broken gates and let everyone leave in a timely manner even if they lost the parking revenue. Just think about how many others were inconvenienced by this operation. Won’t go back there again for a long, long time…
«The renovated Fountain Square North Garage has 635 vehicle spaces on four underground levels, all-​new lighting, ventilation, signage, public restrooms, a new security system, and security personnel.» (Doesn’t mention the new, improved payment and gate system for some reason…)
Another Parking Customer Wrote: «This happened to me a couple weeks ago, Alan. I finally went down the up ramp and then sat at a „credit card only“ gate that was operational and blew my horn. When the guy asked if I had a $ 5, I said „no, open the gate. I’ve been sitting here an hour. I have no intention of paying.“ He looked at me a second and then at the long line of cars piling up behind me and opened the gate. RIDICULOUS!»
AHI: Whoever runs this business has no respect for other people and their time…

First thing you should know is that the Cincinnati Police have rated this garage as Excellent for safety. They have the sign to prove it in the office.
The garage is very reasonable compared to others. after 4pm on weekdays and on the weekends is $ 5 for 8 hours, which is pretty good if you are downtown for several hours. i could see how that wouldnt work as well if youre there for a very short amount of time. but this garage is always the cheapest for Reds games and for Bengals games. Everyone who works there is very helpful if you are trying to find out where to go in the city. Parts of the garage do smell funny, but after 30 years of being here its probably permanent.

I have a love/​hate relationship with Fountain Square garage.
For one, I am totally against parking garages. As I downtowner I know where the good spots are and I know when the spots open up and the times so I usually just park at a meter or space. But when I absolutely have to I park here.
Positives:
— Cheap
— Convenient right on the square
Negative:
— Extremely confusing and hard to navigate
— The elevator is either going at a snails pace or broken.
— Not very well lit
I don’t know maybe I have been watching too many episodes of the Sopranos but just not a huge fan of garages, but if you are desperate or don’t know the city very well this is about as good as it gets.

Fountain Square Garage is great because it’s convenient and cheap.
Located *right* under Fountain Square, FSG is in the heart of the business district of downtown and most things downtown are just a brief walk from the garage. To top it off, it’s affordable too. $ 5 for a couple of hours is totally fair and cheap considering the location.
The downside: This garage is confusing to navigate and has fake spaces. The fake spaces is what really gets to me — they mark it out so as you come up to it you think «finally, somewhere to park!» but then you start to pull in and there’s some box equipment taking up just enough space that you can’t park there.
But, the location and price totally trump any and all negatives I could come up with. This garage is perfect on those fronts.

Fountain Square Garage is as good as a garage is going to get.
The first point of any good garage is size, and they’ve got it covered. Multiple levels that stretch far underneath the city (from Fountain Square to the building across the street.) You may have to drive a little bit to find a spot if something popular is going on, but I’ve almost never been denied parking here.
The price is solid too. Only a $ 1 for the first hour and then great specials the rest of the day. Nice.
You’re supposed to take your ticket with you and pay at the machine, and there are many signs reminding you to do just that. Most people do and it makes the line move super fast when getting out, but there’s always that one jackhole who forgets or doesn’t want to wait in line at the machine and pays as they’re leaving, slowing everything up. Don’t be this jackhole, just pay before you get in your car.
The best part of the garage, though, is how clean and well-​lit it is. Each floor is painted a different color so it’s easy to remember where you are and the lights are bright so it’s never one of those creepy garages. Even when you’re walking alone at night, it feels fine.
Five stars for a garage? Why not, it’s earned them.

If you can be a fan of a parking garage, then I’m a fan of Fountain Square Garage.
«Why?» you may ask. Well, location, location, location are the first three reasons.
The reasons to round it out have a lot to do with spot availability, price and ease of paying.

This garage is very convenient for parking in downtown. Up to the first hour is a dollar, after the first hour the price raises to three. If in after 4pm the rate is $ 5 for the rest of the day.
When exiting the garage the option is either Walnut street or 5^th street. Also if paying cash remember to bring ticket with you and pay at machine before getting back to car.

This garage is a must-​know for any out-​of-​towner visiting downtown Cincinnati. Fountain Square Garage is the cleanest, safest, and cheapest downtown. If you are grabbing dinner at Via Vite or Palomino, Fountain Square Garage is so conveniently located that you’ll wonder why you were ever wary of coming downtown.
Parking will always be in the single digits unless you are going to be there all day. Even then you won’t find a better deal downtown.

Along with Fountain Square, the garage was also renovated and made to look real pretty.
Previously the garage was never very unsafe or risky. I’ve always felt that it is really comfortable and easy to park here when going downtown. Now they’ve made it even better! Each level is painted really nicely in different colors so you can remember which level you parked on. They have new and much brighter lighting, new signs, public restrooms (although I still would be cautious to use them), and apparently have 24 hour security.
The signs make it really easy to get around the levels and to know which way to go to get out. Now they have a pay-​on-​foot system where you can pay before you get back to your car and then you just put the ticket in a machine as you drive out!
The pricing has always been really great. If you can’t find street parking and you’ve decided to pull into this garage, it won’t hit you hard in the belt. You can park for an hour for $ 1 and for 2 hours $ 3. It goes up from there. They also have monthly parking for people who park there everyday.