JACKSON, Wyo. — As the Home Ranch Lot shifts to a year-round three-hour parking restriction starting April 15, Buckrail readers are asking “Where do we park now?”
Facebook comments poured in from readers, many expressing anger and disbelief over what they described as increasingly limited parking options for employees.
“So for everyone working downtown for 8 hours, where do you park?” one reader commented. “Where are the workers supposed to park that do 8-hour shifts? Since street parking isn’t really an option these days either,” said another.
The reaction highlights what appears to be a central tension in the Town: balancing parking between tourists, locals and employees.
Town Council decided on Sept. 15, 2025, to enforce three-hour parking in the Home Ranch Lot from April 15 to Nov. 1. The change from last week’s meeting extends that restriction to be year-round, which is consistent with the surrounding streets. The restriction is intended to reduce traffic caused by drivers circling blocks in search of parking. Teton County Transportation Manager Dr. Charlotte Frei told Buckrail that in communities like Jackson (with high volumes of tourism), a significant portion of traffic congestion comes not from through-traffic, but rather drivers hunting for parking spots.
The idea, according to Frei, is that by discouraging long-term parking in lots like the Home Ranch Lot, overall traffic congestion decreases.
According to the Sept. 15 staff report, research shows that occupancy of available parking spaces exceeding 85% is a “tipping point where drivers begin to circulate in search of spaces, generating additional vehicle miles traveled and emissions.” The report goes on to state that this can “lead to higher levels of traffic congestion as drivers circle multiple blocks while searching for parking.”
In a study completed from Aug. 1 to 3, 2024, multiple downtown blocks and surface lot occupancies exceeded 90%, and in some cases occupancy reached 95%. At Miller Park, occupancies at times surpassed 100%, with vehicles parking in drive aisles because no spaces were available, according to Frei.
Town officials say alternative parking options are available. Town of Jackson Public Works Director Johnny Ziem told Buckrail that a number of lots remain long-term, such as the lots next to Miller Park, Deloney Ave., the Center for the Arts and the parking garage on Millward. The parking garage, located roughly seven blocks from Home Ranch, has “substantial space available,” Ziem said.
Ziem also told Buckrail that no additional long-term parking facilities are currently planned, though the concept of a future parking garage has been discussed without timelines or funding attached.
Frei said the existing parking garage has the capacity to house cars parked by local workers and commuters in part because it is no longer being used for long-term vehicle storage. “There’s a ton of space at the parking garage. People were using long-term storage for two, three, four weeks at a time,” Frei said. “Now there’s room.”
The parking garage remains free from 4 a.m. to midnight daily. Currently the fee from midnight to 4 a.m. is $5 per hour.
