JACKSON, Wyo. — The Town of Jackson is moving forward with the possibility of paid parking in the downtown area. A request for proposals (RFP) was issued on Sept. 8, seeking qualified firms to provide management of the town’s downtown parking facilities. Paid parking will only become a reality if the Jackson Town Council votes to approve the program.
According to the RFP, the intent is for a summer-only management program with the possibility of a seasonal winter management program “if warranted.”
The Town is also interested in reviewing plans for a residential parking permit program to manage overflow parking impacts, if any, into residential neighborhoods surrounding the paid parking district following the implementation of paid parking.
There are approximately 1,742 downtown public parking spaces managed by the Town. According to the RFP, only 400 of the on-street spaces were identified as the most likely spaces to be transitioned to paid parking as detailed in the 2019 Downtown Parking and Mobility Plan. No off-street spaces were identified for paid parking, but respondents may include off-street spaces to their proposed parking plans as they deem advisable.
Paid parking in the downtown area has been a years-long debate. In Dec. 2019, the Council at that time pushed off plans for paid parking with tweaks to the parking regulations in the hopes of freeing up more spaces. In Dec. 2020, the same Council moved a motion to direct staff to hire a consultant to evaluate downtown paid parking.
