Just to clear up one point of apparent confusion in this thread, the new pay-to-park system does not apply to downtown. The pay-to-park area is east of Montgomery Street.
Pay to park debacle
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You have to pay to park on the square in Oxford but there is a fairly new, free parking garage on the edge of their downtown. Downtown Starkville has never been an outstanding area. Maybe a free parking garage in the site of the old farmers market is a solution. There needs to be more reasons to go downtown. The cotton district bars and restaurants really fragment the small population of people visiting the town.
Agree.
Similar story: Loudoun County Public Schools (in the northern part of Virginia) set forth a policy which says that every person that attends a high school girls lacrosse game (and, all other high school sports . . . I think) MUST purchase their ticket to attend via an app on a smart phone.
There's no cash money involved. The app is the ONLY way to get a ticket.
I've often wondered . . . what if a poor person (or, an old person; or, someone that is generally against mobile technology) - who doesn't own a smart phone - wants to go to a game?
In my opinion, LCPS crossed the line and is being unreasonable.
Interestingly enough, there are only about a dozen parking places provided under that building, thats all the parking they have. There's not another building around that could get away with building that size building and not having a parking lot.
That’s the thing. It’s free on the weekend which would normally be the time I would expect someone to park in a spot all day. Especially during game weekends.
and also, the app isn't the only way to pay. You can also go to their website and choose a payment method. I'm not in favor of the paid parking at all but details need to be correct.
I have another point of contention w/ it. On their website ParkMobile says you can reserve a parking place ahead of time and its guaranteed to be there. Lets say I'm in the district and cruising around and trying to find parking but I can't park in a spot that's open and supposedly has someone coming to get it? I'm there, ready to pay and park but I can't because someone may show up, that's ********. I feel the same way about restaurants w/ "Take Out Only" parking. I was making the rounds in the parking lot of Harvey's about a month ago to meet a customer there for dinner. No parking anywhere but several out front for take out only. I'm there and ready to go in and sit down to eat and there's spots reserved only for people that may or may not show up?
I have another point of contention w/ it. On their website ParkMobile says you can reserve a parking place ahead of time and its guaranteed to be there. Lets say I'm in the district and cruising around and trying to find parking but I can't park in a spot that's open and supposedly has someone coming to get it? I'm there, ready to pay and park but I can't because someone may show up, that's ********. I feel the same way about restaurants w/ "Take Out Only" parking. I was making the rounds in the parking lot of Harvey's about a month ago to meet a customer there for dinner. No parking anywhere but several out front for take out only. I'm there and ready to go in and sit down to eat and there's spots reserved only for people that may or may not show up?
I see that not much has changed in the past 10-15 years with the Brotherhood of Former Hall Monitors that is the Starkville Police Department.
This is exactly correct. They rolled these out in Huntsville recently. The actual fee to park is absurdly low….like $0.75 for 2 hrs or something. But the citation fee is $10….payable only by a mail in check. I got a ticket from parking somewhere that was free forever and had no clue the meter was there (it was behind us as we got it if vehicle). Got in and out in about 30 minutes and already had a ticket. The whole thing is rigged to get revenue from citations.
Personally, I’d rather pay $2-$3 to park and have the enforcement side actually practice some discretion if you go one or two minutes over than pay almost nothing but have some 17stick checking time stamps of every vehicle every 5 minutes, then go through the pain in the *** of paying some trivial amount of money to a city government via the most inefficient means possible.
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1. How much revenue would the paid parking generate? Will it offset lost revenue due to decreased business.
2. It almost seems they are targeting some specific business owners
2. It almost seems they are targeting some specific business owners
If they were more concerned about their product than that damn sign maybe they wouldn’t be second to 929 when it comes to coffee.
How many of you dumb sons of bitches that keep complaining about Lynn has actually been to a town hall meeting or hell live in Starkville? As I said in a previous post this is a weak mayor system and most power comes from the aldermen. Call me a Lynn sympathizer but facts are facts
Downtown Austin sez hold my beer. They can't build elevated parking garages fast enough.
2 million people in the greater Austin area with no real mass transit other than crappy buses.
You think the city of starkville is trying to keep the blue hairs out??? Anything is possible I guess, but that doesn't sound like the Starkville I know.
Do you go anywhere in Madison or Ridgeland that is not a strip mall type set up that provides its own parking?
And is parking every at a premium in Clinton or Vicksburg outside of special events? if there is always parking available, there's no reason to try to charge for it. Zero is the market equilibrium.
So is it basically just the cotton district? Are residents without designated parking causing there to be a shortage for the businesses? Having some sort of system to ensure people aren't just free riding on limited public parking seems reasonable. Especially if it's set up where businesses paying for a commercial license in the area can validate your parking with a purchase and it be free. Or alternatively, just be free for an hour or two before charging. I'd rather go somewhere I know I can get a parking spot, whether paid or not, than go somewhere I know there's a decent chance I'll be circling around the block for a while.
If I was in an area that required paid parking but there were always open spots, I would be annoyed. I would also be annoyed if I was a business owner in an area where there are never open spots but there is no charge.
Not surprising -- a plan made in a vacuum and enhanced by the failure to execute.
The City of Starkville has been - and likely will always be - myopic in its vision, planning, and execution. It's history has been to let MSU bring business to it, and, therefore, doesn't truly understand how transform business development.
The politcal bodies are and always have been weak, and the economic development elements are equally, woefully anemic. Period.
Love MSU -- a beautiful campus -- but Starkville has been left to its "power brokers" and they have been poor stewards of the town.
The City of Starkville has been - and likely will always be - myopic in its vision, planning, and execution. It's history has been to let MSU bring business to it, and, therefore, doesn't truly understand how transform business development.
The politcal bodies are and always have been weak, and the economic development elements are equally, woefully anemic. Period.
Love MSU -- a beautiful campus -- but Starkville has been left to its "power brokers" and they have been poor stewards of the town.
The flip side is just as applicable:
”how would you feel if all your parking was being taken up by people not using your business, but a competitor 1 block away…..”
”how would you feel if all your parking was being taken up by people not using your business, but a competitor 1 block away…..”
Starkville already has a 2 hour time limit parking downtown. They mark tires fairly regularly. I have paid two tickets for going over 2 hours in the last year or so. I think each ticket was around 10 bucks.
For those of us that are not going to pay for parking, there are a few other lots one street over from Main for us to park in. Little walk but no apps or tickets.
Just saw a Tweet from MSU Parking Services that the new parking garage across the street from the Hump opened today. It's a "pay to park" garage, $1.50 1st hour and $2.50 ea additional hour. Lynn Spruill responded and said it was "great" and she also "Liked" the Tweet. What's not to like, a pay to park garage on a campus that already charges you for a permit to park on it? That's ridiculous
Metering parking is only necessary if parking demand is high and there is a need to increase parking turnover. Businesses in downtown districts generally favor this as it prevents employees and others from taking prime customer parking spots all day. My sense is Starkville's Main Street still hasn't grown to that point yet, and this policy wasn't needed.
Some students figured out it's cheaper and more convenient to park in the Cotton District or Downtown and ride the shuttle bus to class. No need to buy a $200 MSU parking pass, drive around campus parking lots hoping to find a spot, walking 1/2 mile to class rain or shine.
Grab a free parking spot in the city. Wait for the shuttle bus and be dropped off at the front door of your building.
The city and business owners don't want those parking spots used by students attending class. Now those students either pay to park or start parking somewhere else. I suspect most will park somewhere else.
Where will 80% of our basketball fans eat after a Saturday game?
There's no Denny's in Starkville.
Your friend didn't have to download an app to pay for parking downtown. Downtown parking is still free, but limited to 2 hours. I believe it has been this way for decades.
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