I always kept quarters in my car’s glove compartment box for when I parked in downtown Jackson. But over the past few years, I haven’t needed them. None of the parking meters worked.
For a while, I would struggle to find a parking spot with a working parking meter then I just gave up. None of them worked. So I would park in a garage or on an unmetered street, alley or vacant lot.
Finally, I realized none of the meters worked and nobody was issuing parking tickets so I just parked anywhere there was space. Never got a parking ticket.
So I was a bit surprised the other day when I parked downtown and saw a brand new sign telling me the city had new parking meters with new ways to pay.
The sign gave me three options. The first option was to find the kiosk at the end of the street and pay by credit card. I walked up and down the street and even on adjacent streets, but I could not locate anything that looked like a parking payment kiosk.
The second method, suggested I download an app. I went to the Android app store and searched for the app, but no such app was available for download.
The third method was to text a number for payment instructions. I texted the number but nothing happened.
So I just parked anyway. An hour later, I returned. There was no ticket on my car.
My brother-in-law Terrell Knight was not so lucky. Like me, he couldn’t find a way to pay and he ended up getting a $25 ticket. He is furious.
“They should be paying people to come downtown, not giving them $25 tickets when their parking meters are . . . (not working),” he said to me with vigor. You need to write about that in the Sun. Done.
I completely agree with Terrell that the City of Jackson should not be charging anybody to park downtown. Quite the opposite, downtown parking should be free to encourage people to come downtown. The city should embark on a PR campaign: free parking, no tickets, come visit and enjoy downtown Jackson.
Northsider Locke Ward has done more of his share to help Jackson overcome its deficiencies. Frustrated by the inability of the city to do the most basic tasks like cutting the grass on medians and picking up trash on the streets, Ward and his buddies raised money and started doing it themselves. Terrell is one of his compatriots. They’ve raised thousands of dollars from frustrated Northsiders and our main thoroughfares look so much better.
Ward recently had an experience that is emblematic of the way the City of Jackson rolls these days. Ward and team have been cleaning out dozens of clogged storm drains throughout north Jackson.
Ward spotted a City of Jackson vacuum maintenance truck (for cleaning storm drains) on the street and asked the driver why nobody in public works ever returns his calls.
The driver said, “Did you call 960-1871?” (The number of the city’s website.) Ward said yes. “Oh, that number has been out of service for three years,” the driver chuckled.
Turns out the city only has two vacuum storm trucks and one is in the shop for repairs. Ward told him about all the storm drains they were cleaning out. The city worker had no idea.
Ward told the worker that two city streets flood every time it rains. The worker had no idea about that either, probably because their telephone number doesn’t work, but he promised to work on the two streets once the vacuum truck got out of the shop.
Meanwhile, Ward reported broken street lights to Entergy and two different people called him right away and thanked him for reporting them.
“If only they (the city) could be like Entergy,” Ward posted on his website.
We have commended Ward and company many times in the Northside Sun. All of north Jackson owes him a debt of gratitude for his hard work, energy and drive. It is pathetic that private citizens have to pay for what the city should be doing with our taxes.
You can search for Locke Ward on Facebook and donate money. And you should.
It’s hard to find something this current Jackson city administration has not screwed up. My current pet peeve: road markings. Most street markings on major Jackson streets are practically invisible. I can’t remember when I’ve seen any new street markings. At night, this is a huge safety hazard.
Thankfully, we have a mayoral election coming up. It is absolutely crucial that we vote Mayor Lumumba out. He does not deserve another term. There’s a big field of contenders. I say there’s nowhere to go but up, but I have been wrong about that for the last four mayors.
On a positive note, New Jersey developer Kumar Bhavanasi, who owns 35 shopping developments throughout the nation, has purchased The Pinnacle Building and the old Deposit Guaranty Building in Downtown Jackson over the past five months. He’s excited and bullish about Jackson. We hope he’s right and wish him well. Maybe he and a new mayor can help turn the city around.
