- Video shows a recap of the special City Council meeting held on Wednesday evening, discussing metered parking.
- On March 11, Council voted unanimously to bring metered parking to Downtown Jackson.
- After receiving feedback, local leaders decided to pause the implementation of meters.
- Wednesday, Council unanimously decided to rescind the resolution made on March 11 to implement a pay-to-park system.
It's a conversation that's gone on for years: metered parking. Now, the idea to bring a metered parking system to Downtown Jackson is over. "We rely on downtown parking for our families," says Executive Director of Jackson School of the Arts (JSA), Amanda Loveland. Loveland says JSA serves about 700 families every week, providing a variety of art and dance classes.
On March 11, City Council voted unanimously to bring meters to Downtown Jackson. This decision concerned many downtown businesses, like JSA, where they offer tiered tuition (free and reduced for families with limited income). "If they're doing that, and they have to pay for parking, that's undoubtedly going to create a barrier for entry. So, we're going to have to lower our tuition, even more, to offset the cost for 700, 900 families that are coming into the building."
WATCH: The decision to bring meters downtown
After receiving feedback from downtown business owners and the community, Council decided to pause the plan for a metered parking system that was supposed to go live on July 1. Loveland shares, "My reaction was, we need to voice our opinion, see if we can get a postponement on that, which we did, which is awesome."
Wednesday, Council re-evaluated the decision, after hearing from the community. One of the many neighbors who participated in public comment was Laura Davenport, Owner of the Blue Julep. She stated, "I do believe that this will greatly hurt my business. I've had so many customers tell me that they will not pay a parking meter to run into my shop to purchase baked goods."
In that meeting, Council unanimously decided to rescind the plan for a pay-to-park system. Ward 4 City Councilman, Conner Wood, responded, "I think it's incumbent on all of us to take accountability when we're wrong. I think we were wrong on this one. I think we've got a chance to fix it, at least this part, and try to find out what a long-term solution is."
Parking will remain meterless, and Council is looking into starting a task force to find a parking solution for businesses, like JSA. "I hope that this is just the start of a conversation on what it looks like to address the fact that parking and the cost of maintenance has increased, and it has to be addressed," explains Loveland.
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