Oxford Mayor Pat Patterson, center, listens on during a Board of Aldermen meeting in Oxford Tuesday. Anna Brigance, The Daily Mississippian.
The City of Oxford could see a significant change in tourism and patronage this year with the possible addition of parking meters for street-front parking on the Square.
The idea behind the parking meters is to give citizens and visitors a chance to escape the many parking tickets that are issued to illegal parkers.
According to a map produced by special interest group Park Oxford, the meters would be added to high-quality parking spots on South 11th Street, South Lamar Boulevard, Van Buren Avenue, Jackson Avenue and North Lamar Boulevard.
The passage of a preliminary resolution supporting the measure during last night’s Board of Aldermen meeting, however, calls for the development of ordinance amendment wording to clarify the pricing and location of approved meters.
City Planner Tim Akers said that this is not a new idea.
“The city of Oxford has been considering paid premium parking spaces for a number of years,” Akers said.
He said if the Board of Aldermen passes the movement, the system should be operational by summer.
Aldermen and members of the city’s parking commission clarified in Tuesday’s meeting that the approval granted by the Board of Aldermen would allow for ordinance reading and public hearing to take place in early April before further votes.
“If that does pass, my main concern would be where the money is going,” sophomore pre-med major Peyton Dixon said. “If the money will benefit the community, such as renovating that vacant eyesore of a mall on Jackson, then I am all for it.”
Although nothing has been said about the mall on Jackson, it has been stated that the money from the meters would most likely go toward a new parking garage for the city, which Akers said has been under consideration for a long time. However, this is something that would not be viable until a few years from now.
Freshman psychology major Chris Holt said he believes both parking meters and a parking garage aren’t quite worth the headache they would cause the city of Oxford.
“I think it’s a nice idea and the town definitely needs one,” he said. “However, by the time you factor in taxes, maintenance and installation of the meters and the hourly wages for whoever has to check the things, it wouldn’t even begin to cover the costs of a parking deck.”
Akers has made it clear that the public would get a say in the addition of the meters.
Ward Three Alderman Janice Antonow clarified during Tuesday’s meeting that the issue was more of “managing parking rather than generating revenue.”
— Walter Lyle
wmlyle@go.olemiss.edu
