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!



Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

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!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.