St. Joseph Today, the downtown promotion organization, is taking a cautious approach to the flurry of negative public comment directed toward the downtown area and the City Government amid the start of paid parking in the central business district.
In a discussion with MoodyOnTheMarket.com, SJT Executive Director Paul Knapp reminds all parties that “it’s very early in the game” where downtown paid parking is concerned. He acknowledged that the customer counts of stores that actually track them were slightly off in the first few days of paid parking. However, he pointed out that cool, damp weather also has been in play.
St. Joseph Today takes no position for or against paid parking but attempts to help their members deal with any common business challenges. Knapp, however, points out that the downtown parking issue has been “a process, not an event.”
Knapp summarized the chronology: The parking challenge has been under discussion for years and has gone through extensive study, with public and business owner input sought many times along the way. The plan that emerged, and now is being implemented was a compromise, not a dictate from any one group or outside consultant.
Knapp observes that it’s not unusual to pay for parking, even in the local area. And he cited an example from last weekend when he took his son to a Little League event and was asked to pay $10 to park in a township park.
He wondered aloud if most people have taken the time to learn the specifics of the new St. Joseph paid parking rules, before expressing dramatic opposition. For example, he points out that if you are simply picking up your dry cleaning or a sandwich-to-go, you can pay for 15 minutes—not a full hour. That’s as little as 50 cents on the street or 25 cents in a lot.
Knapp also explains that the planners of the new system had a goal of having about 15 % of the paid parking spaces available at any given time, for the purpose of allowing arriving visitors—potential customers in downtown businesses—to conveniently park and transact their business. So, the sight of some available spaces, once the system is up and running normally during the summer tourist season, would not be a bad sign. Instead, it would show the system is working as designed.
At the same time, Knapp acknowledged that no one would be pleased if an average Monday looked like May 19 did this week, when there were dozens of empty spaces available downtown during prime business hours.
Knapp is hopeful, and reasonably confident, that a few weeks into the tourist season downtown merchants and the City of St. Joseph will be in a better and clearer position to evaluate how the new system is working and where it may need to be tweaked or adjusted to better achieve its goals of opening up downtown spaces for customers and moving long term, all day parkers to the East or South of the central business district.
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As a courtesy to MOTM readers, below is the City of St. Joseph official paid parking information, from the city’s website, www.SJCity.com
All About the Downtown Parking Program
Please note: The downtown parking program differs from parking in our parks. Please visit our Public Safety pages for more information on park parking.
Paid parking will only be in effect from May 15–Sept. 15 during our busiest season.
Parking downtown is free the rest of the year.
Paid parking will be in effect west of Main Street.
All parking east of Main Street is free year-round.
Paid parking will only be in effect from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Parking outside of these hours is free.
On-Street and Lot Parking East of Main Street:
- Free
- Time limit: 3 hours to all day
- Maximum parking cost: $0
On-Street Parking West of Main Street:
- $2/hour
- Time limit: 15 minutes to 3 hours
- Maximum parking cost: $6
Lot Parking West of Main Street:
- $1/hour
- Time limit: 15 minutes to all day
- Maximum parking cost: $12/day
Pay Via Mobile
Save time! The passport mobile app can save your pay information and license plates to take the hassle out of pay-to-park.
Make sure you note down your license plate number and zone number in order to pay. More details and instructions are coming soon.
To download the app, visit the Apple or Google Play store.
Tip: this is the same app used by our City Parks!
Pay via Pay Station
Pay stations will be available each block in the Downtown area. Make sure you note down your license plate number and zone number in order to pay. More details and instructions are coming soon.
Please note that pay stations do not accept cash.
