Thursday, November 22, 2018

The Invasion of the Parking Meters

Parking meters will be coming to Fondren in 2019.  The Jackson City Council authorized the Mayor to issue a Request for Proposals to install new meters in Fondren and overhaul the current parking meter system.



Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Robert Blaine said the city would install the new meters in Fondren as the first phase of the project so it wouldn't lose revenue when it replaced current meters.   The new meters will accept credit cards and cash.  The meter maids will be able to look at an app and see if a parking meter is expired instead of physically visiting each parking meter as is the current practice.

Mayor Lumumba said parking rates will increase.  "I believe we can go higher than 25 cents per hour," he said.  Dr. Blaine and Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay both said that business owners complained that students at UMMC were parking in Fondren for up to ten hours a day as they avoid using the UMMC parking lot.  Business owners are losing customers due to the parking hogs from UMMC.

Mayor Lumumba said the city will maintain the new system instead of outsourcing its operation to a private company. Dr. Blaine said there are 6,400 parking stalls in Jackson.  Phase 1 will place meters in the triangle created by the intersections of North State Street, Old Canton Road, and Duling.  80 meters will be installed in the triangle.  Mayor Lumumba said "the business community of Fondren is looking forward to it."

Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester, Jr. said some business owners "expressed concern" and that were worried the meters would "impact their business."  Dr. Blaine suggested they buy a parking stall and make it available to customers.

The city will issue the RFP on December 1.  The response period will be thirty days.



Kingfish  note: JJ has received complaints about the parking hogs for over a year.  People who work or study at UMMC don't want to use the UMMC parking lot by the stadium.  So they park in Fondren and return 8-10 hours later.  Meanwhile, customers can't park.

Advice to the Mayor.  If you are going to overhaul the parking meter system, please do something about the reserved parking.  Someone pays $5, gets the special white bag, and suddenly, the parking spot is off limits even though it sits literally empty all day in many cases.  Right, Mr. attorney on Capitol Street? 

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

The students don’t want to park in the ummc lot because it is dangerous. The City is installing parking meters here because it is an opportunity to stick it to the white man, again.

Anonymous said...

Baby Chok and company are going to waste more money to install computerized parking meters while drivers get their vehicles destroyed by potholes and sinkholes large enough to eat a bus. More revenue from parking meters will simply be diverted into the pockets of these corrupt, greedy thugs.

Anonymous said...

Hallelujah! It's time for the UMMC parking hogs to park in their lot at Memorial Stadium where they belong! I just hope that the city enforces this!

Anonymous said...

Hail to the modernized parking meters! The ones in Oxford work great; I wonder what’s their revenue.

Anonymous said...

If it weren't for UMMC, this part of Jackson would be like the south Jackson, McDowell road old west shooting range. It looks like slowly but surely the Jackson's leaders are looking for ways to run UMMC off. There is still some room for the med center in Madison and Rankin counties. The main problem would be that it would take longer to transport the gunshot victims.

Anonymous said...

Dumb idea that won’t even fix the problem. Just allow businesses to buy the spots and reserve them for their customers. If these folks are already going out of their way to park there, does anyone actually believe that charging them $2 will make a difference???? Government is always looking for an excuse to grow its reach.

Anonymous said...

This ought to be interesting, I’d expect the same skill and business acumen that we see in collecting water payments. My guess is that nobody will actually pay for parking once the meters break (or are broken) and hundreds of expensive pieces of equipment (the meters) will sit unrepaired and wind up collecting ZERO revenue. Good luck Jackson! But...it is the season of hope...

Anonymous said...

A new supply of money for the crooks

Anonymous said...

Milking the cash cows again now that the annexation udders have dried up.

Anonymous said...

Austin has Keep Austin Weird.
Jackson has Keep Jackson Inaccessible
potholes, near dirt roads and business unfriendly practices.

Anonymous said...

My husband works at UMMC and parks in the stadium parking lot. There is at least one shuttle running from the lot to the hospital at all times so if you are concerned by safety, then, duh, ride the shuttle. Security guards patrol the lot around the clock. You're probably safer parking there than at a parking meter in Fondren.

Anonymous said...

Instead of spending the money to install meters the logical solution is to designate the parking spaces "1 Hour Parking" (or time of choice) and strictly enforce the time limit. The meter readers would ride by, mark the tires, then check back later and ticket those in violation. This has worked well in many other locations.

Anonymous said...

Of course, they are going after Fondren.
What about the predominant black areas?

Anonymous said...

People park wherever they can get it free. UMMC should charge its staff $25/ mon. to park on the campus. As for the US highways, state highways, and the municipal artery roads, those who use them should pay for them. Those heavy trucks are not paying their fair share; nor are the daily commuters into the capital city. Nobody can police or finance parking effectively without meters and prepaid monthly parking.

Anonymous said...

@9:33 As a student at UMMC I can tell you that that just is not true. Never heard anyone say they don't feel safe walking to the parking lot. I do absolutely know people who park in Fondren all day because it is closer though.

Anonymous said...

Mayor Lumumba said the city will maintain the new system instead of outsourcing its operation to a private company.

A move that stacks the odds significantly against success.

Anonymous said...

@ 9:33
My wife and I are both physicians at UMC and live in Fondren. I find your comment to be ridiculous as Fondren is largely white but UMC is very mixed in its staff and those on campus. Better chance of being Asian that white. Don't be an idiot.

Anonymous said...

A liberal politician never found a tax source that he didn't embrace.

Tax and spend.

/s/ Ben Dover

Anonymous said...

Meters in The Fondren. Bwa ha ha.

Oxford Resident said...

Reading comments on this blog critical of parking meters in a CITY just reminds me of how backward and redneck so many in our state are. We will never get off the bottom. My God do you hillbillies EVER get out?

Anonymous said...

My mother used to work at UMMC. Two years ago she was carjacked in the parking lot. She took the shuttle, approached her car, and a black male came out of the shadows and pulled a gun. He only got away with her purse and phone.
We were lucky, it could have been much worse. UMMC should do something to actually provide security for the students and employees.

Anonymous said...

Attn 2:28 Have you been drinking that Ole Miss cool-ade again? Are you really believing the stuff they preach at OM about civics? You need to graduate, get off daddy's payroll and actually learn something about the reality of life.

Anonymous said...

Just as blacks protest and complain that cops target high crime black areas, I will be protesting this tax on white businesses.

Jackson leaders need to respect our white dollars.

Anonymous said...

How about starting by fixing and emptying the money from the meters downtown? Every time I try to put quarters in one, its is inevitably jammed with quarters and therefore out of service. It makes me question whether this is really about revenue, as some others have posted.

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows a parking meter has an inherent liberal bias.

Anonymous said...

Nary a meter in The Madison.

Cynical Sam said...

@6:56 AM - true, and no drive-by shootings, no crooked city hall, no crooked school district, no constant bond sales, no potholes, no broken storm drain covers killing people, no politicians waving the race card, no mismanaged police department, no racist mayor...

Anonymous said...

If they're smart, they'll install meters that take alternate payments as well, like Android Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, SNAP Cards, TANF Checks, AFDC etc.

Given that it's Fondren, maybe they should take Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Pay that funky meter white boy said...

The "people" of The Fondren rally around the mantra "Keep Fondren Funky", so let's have them determine the bound-aries of what is and what isn't funky and self impose an additional 1% sales tax on funky goods and services and a 2% sales tax on funky food and beverage. Does that make sense? At least as much sense as attempting to resolve a parking problem for the merchants of The Fondren by creating revenue for The City of Jackson? Is this "Phase 1 test" to determine whether or not "Phase 2 success" of installing parking meters around the Jackson Zoo would work to save the Zoo?

Anonymous said...

Shoot the goose that laid the golden egg!!

Cynical Sam said...

Jacktown should hire a relative, err, consultant, to study the parking problem. A report would be written according to confirmation bias.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

I Agree with Oxford Resident said...

Reading comments on this blog critical of parking meters in a CITY just reminds me of how backward and redneck so many in our state are. We will never get off the bottom. My God do you hillbillies EVER get out?

Lovely Rita Metah Maid said...

I was a fan of the painted catfish in The Jackson. Will be a great contest to see the designs painted on these meter-posts. Southern Living magazine will be here in a flash. And of course we'll need brass rings welded on these posts for all The Fondren poodle-people to attach their pups while shopping for candles and roach clips.

Thinking ahead, here....Can these meters be calibrated so that, upon expiration, they play maybe a Barbra Streisand or Justin Beiber song? Something gentle to remind shoppers to feed the meter?

(Sing it with me now....Lovely Reetah Meetah Maid....)

Fondren Observer said...

The elite of The Fondren should be happy, as meters will keep out the riff raff (if the meter maids dare enforce them). But there is nothing like parking meters in front of your house to make property values tank, though just being in Jacktown doesn't help either.

Free the parking, by any means necessary! said...

Wait...parking should be FREE - everywhere, and shouldn't the mayor be trying to remove barriers to freedom of movement within the city? It seems to me that having to pay for parking is less inclusive, and would be an economic barrier for some. I say remove ALL of the parking meters and reserved parking throughout the city!


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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