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Mar 16, 2025

What you need to know about Jackson’s new parking meters - mlive.com

Jackson City Council members approved a resolution March 11, 2025 to replace the “meterless parking” in the city's downtown commercial district with a “pay-to-park” system. (Mitchell Kukulka |

Jackson City Council members approved a resolution March 11, 2025 to replace the “meterless parking” in the city's downtown commercial district with a “pay-to-park” system. (Mitchell Kukulka | MLive.com)Mitchell Kukulka | [email protected]

JACKSON, MI - A city decision to install parking meters in downtown Jackson has provoked some discussion, some ire and plenty of questions.

The Jackson City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday, March 11, to move away from meterless parking funded by downtown property assessments with a pay-to-park system.

Related: Parking meters coming to Jackson as city approves major downtown change

Here is what we know about the situation so far.

A: Under the current assessment-funded system, business owners downtown pay higher assessment rates to keep parking free with a standard two-hour time limit. The assessments raise about $147,000 per year to help the city pay for repairs and maintenance to parking lots, City Engineer Troy White said.

The new “pay-to-park” requires short-term parkers to use pay stations to add time to a digital clock. Fees can be paid at pay stations that accept change, credit and debit cards, or by using a smartphone app, White said.

The base rate for the new parking system will be $2 per hour per parking space for electronic payments. Cash and change can be used to add time less than an hour.

Monthly parking permits allowing access to designated parking lots will still be available for long-term parkers.

“Every space downtown will either require a permit or a payment,” White said.

Jackson now enforces downtown public parking 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The city will enforce parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on all days except Sundays and city holidays in the new system, though White said the city has no plans to enforce on Saturdays except in some instances, like when there are special events.

White said the new system will make parking enforcement easier for drivers and the parking management department, as the pay station’s built-in clocks will make time limits clearer. White gives the examples of some parkers arguing against tickets by saying they moved spots or enforcement officers miscalculated how long they were there - which will be harder to do with a clearer time limit.

“We have all of this grey area,” White said. “If we go to pay-to-park, it’ll make it a lot more black and white.”

The cost of a permit will jump from $65 to $72, White said, though a single permit will give drivers access to most off-street parking lots in the city.

A: City officials believe the new system will generate more revenue to improve maintenance efforts in the downtown area.

Assessment revenue in the 2024-25 fiscal year totaled $147,475, White said.

Pay-to-Park fees are projected to generate $266,625 in the 2025-26 fiscal year. Monthly permit sales are projected to generate another $307,325 in that same timeframe.

White said the assessment system has gotten less popular among downtown business owners in recent years.

Related: Meterless parking continues downtown, 1 street assessment passes but 3 fail at Jackson council meeting

Councilmember Connor Wood said he supports metered parking because the current system is no longer profitable enough to maintain itself.

“The reason we’re in this situation is because for decades, people were paying way less than things cost, and not paying for maintenance and over-building,” Wood said. “They have left us a legacy of infrastructure that we cannot afford, and a declining population that has a lower income than could support this infrastructure.”

A: Some downtown business owners aren’t thrilled.

Related: Jackson businesses believe new parking meters will discourage downtown visitors

Schupbachs Sporting Goods, 141 W. Pearl St., published a statement on Facebook in opposition.

“Please do not punish the small business that had no say in this! Please do not let $2 sway you from shopping small business,” it says.

Steve Shotwell, Jackson County Board chairman and owner of Miller Shoe Parlor, opposed the new parking system during public comment.

“The disadvantage of having the parking meters there is that it puts all the onus on the customer to choose to come and visit our businesses in downtown Jackson,” Shotwell said.

FarmSudz manager Erin Valkuchak said the only benefit she sees is businesses will not need to pay for the assessments. She believes the new system will discourage visitors.

“I don’t know if it would hinder people just coming downtown to explore, because we do get a lot of new customers that are just walking around downtown looking at the Bright Walls,” Valkuchak said.

Joshua Kelly, an employee at Nostalgia Ink, 139 S. Mechanic St., is on the fence about the decision. He believes it could sway people from coming downtown but could help landlords that no longer have to pay for the assessment, he said.

“I’m neither for it, nor against it, I’m right in the middle,” Kelly said. “I’ll go along with the flow.”

A: By approving the transition to a new system, the Jackson City Council also approved the award of a $466,710 contract to Total Parking Solutions, Inc. to purchase and install 47 touchscreen pay station terminals.

The transition to metered parking will take about three months, with the new systems going live July 1, after the city receives and sets up the necessary pay station terminals, according to the proposal.

City Manager Jon Greene said the exact rules and guidelines for the new system are not set in stone, and the city will need to be adaptable in how the system is managed.

“It’s impossible for all of us to cover off every special situation and condition out there,” Greene said to the Jackson City Council. “This represents a big change. If you guys choose to do this big change, we’re gonna need some latitude to make some calls and bring some stuff back to you, because we don’t have a crystal ball.

“We’re not going to have this perfect out of the gate.”

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