Students parking in Oxford neighborhoods have forced some residents to demand their own parking permit system.
Beginning Oct. 6, residents of Tyler Avenue and Fifth Street will have the option to buy parking permits or visitor permits if they want to park on the street.
“The problem of student and faculty parking in downtown neighborhoods has increased over the past three years dramatically,” Ward Two Alderman Robyn Tannehill said.
The ordinance will be in place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, but does not include weekends, holidays or game days. Permits will cost $50 each for up to two vehicles and residents have the option of purchasing up to two $25 visitor permits.
Tannehill said students and faculty have found parking at the cost of the neighborhoods surrounding Ole Miss.
Residents are still allowed to use their own driveways and are not required to buy a parking permit by the city ordinance. Additionally, the permits do not reserve specific spots, just the right to park in spots.
Tannehill said the neighborhood areas of South Fifth Street, Tyler Avenue and Van Buren Avenue, have become a parking lot on weekdays for student commuters.
“With the university’s stated plans of growth and parking being pushed to the edges of campus, we know that this problem will only become worse,” Tannehill said.
A limited number of permits will be sold to prevent overcrowding. The numbers of permits sold will be relevant to the number of residents on each street.
Parking Director Matt Davis said he expects to sell around 20 permits for Tyler Avenue and around 50 permits for Fifth Street.
The permit costs are not expected to fund the pilot program, but the revenue will go into the general parking budget to offset the expenses.
Oxford Mayor Pat Patterson said the permits will decongest street parking and will hopefully improve the quality of life for residents in the area.
Tannehill said her ward is in the pilot program. The city will review if it’s working before the permits spread to other neighborhoods.
Tannehill said she has already received several calls from people in other areas near campus who would like their streets to be considered if the program is expanded.
But Oxford resident Katherine Thornton is concerned the city is not focused on the real problems.
Thornton has lived in Oxford since 1996. She currently lives off of South Lamar Boulevard.
“I worry that it will affect other neighborhoods down the road where it isn’t a problem,” Thornton said.
Thornton said she also thinks permits should be free to residents of congested areas.
“It is crazy to make the residential owner purchase a parking pass. Why not give each resident two parking permits and then additional (permits) cost money?” Thornton said.
Tannehill said the permit idea was brought up by citizens who live in the area. After that, the city researched into how other cities have managed overcrowding.
“It is not a perfect solution but we believe it is the best option,” Tannehill said. “(But) the residents of this neighborhood are 100 percent supportive.”
