On March 11, Jackson City Council unanimously voted to approve a metered parking system in downtown Jackson that would have been ready by July 1 of this summer. 15 days and a pause on the implementation later, the Council unanimously voted to reverse that decision at Wednesday night’s special meeting of the City Council. Many local small business owners and citizens alike voiced heavy concerns with what a metered parking system would do to the local economy, with many Jackson business owners expressing the belief that it would result in major harm to them.
That sentiment had been vocalized since the system was approved, with multiple people at the meeting saying that a higher parking assessment on their business would be preferred to a $2 per hour meter at their businesses.
Jackson Mayor Daniel Mahoney says that prior communication to businesses and citizens could have been better.

Mayor Mahoney spoke at the meeting about forming a task force committed to figuring out a way to better fund the parking system via assessments.

City Manager Jonathan Greene commended the Council for ultimately changing course on a wrong decision.

While it is currently uncertain how the City will move forward with funding their downtown parking, what is certain is that parking meters will not be making an unwanted return after it was made perfectly clear by the community just how unwanted they are.