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Downtown residents who park overnight in Jackson’s only public garage will soon face a major change to the tune of $12 a night.
Overnight parking will soon cost $3 an hour from midnight to 4 a.m. This is in hopes that the town can recoup costs it takes to maintain the garage and police citations for those overstaying the 48-hour limit in the 2007 structure.
This, however, poses an acute problem for the growing number of residents in the neighborhood. Over 50 households live in the Jackson Street Apartments, which features only one parking spot per unit. When overnight street parking ban goes into effect from Nov. 1 to April 15 to allow for snow plowing, residents like Eric Doyle, whose partner also has a car, have previously depended on the garage.
Now that winter parking option might be less reliable.
“That’s like $1,980 per car for that time,” he said.
Other mountain towns, including Aspen and Breckenridge, in Colorado and Ketchum, Idaho charge at least occasionally for parking. This is the first time Jackson will charge to use any of its spaces.
Rain, snow or shine, Doyle walks the block and a half from his apartment to the parking structure on the occasions his singular apartment parking spot has been maxed out.
Doyle said he’s not the only one turning to the parking garage in the winter months during the street parking ban.
He’s worried that his neighbors don’t know about the cost, which he thinks could be prohibitive, that’s looming.
“They’re locally plated cars,” Doyle said. “They just have a working-class look to them. It appears to be people who are not on vacation.”
Staff is providing alternatives for the town council to discuss at an Oct. 6 meeting. There will be time for public comment.
“I do not have more information about off-street parking alternatives for people who have used the Millward/Simpson garage in past winters under the 48-hour restriction,” Teton County Transportation Manager Charlotte Frei said in an email.
Frei suggested people looking for other options check out local community forums and group chats, pointing to Craigslist and the Jackson “Airport Rides” WhatsApp chat.
Maintaining the garage costs between $50,000 and $150,000 per year and upwards of 1,500 staff hours, she added.
If the town council doesn’t opt for alternatives before the parking ban goes into effect, Doyle said he might get creative to avoid the payment.
“I’ve really been kicking a lot of ideas around from selling my car and START bussing to-and-from work and then just relying on friends for any recreation travel,” Doyle said.
