Downtown Parking Program Pause Continues
St. Joseph, Michigan, July 14, 2025 — The St. Joseph City Commission this evening reaffirmed its commitment to partnering with businesses and residents on downtown parking.
The City’s Parking Subgroup recommended that the downtown parking program pause remain in place until next spring.
“City staff and I have spent the past month visiting downtown businesses and talking with owners and their employees about the Downtown Parking Program, including what works, what doesn’t work and the changes they’d like to see,” City Manager Emily Hackworth told the City Commission in presenting the subgroup’s recommendation. “We also have had conversations with residents who have provided equally valuable feedback on the parking program. As a result of this listening tour, we believe extending the pause through the year, continuing these conversations and taking additional time to partner with businesses and residents to make thoughtful updates to the program makes the most sense. We will continue listening and, over the next few months, we will incorporate additional business and resident voices into the downtown parking program design.
“We also will use this time to focus on enhancing downtown attractions, including events, public art and other activities throughout the year that will draw residents and visitors downtown and encourage them to shop, dine and relax awhile.”
In addition to continued community conversations around the parking program and potential changes, there will be more voices in downtown decisions. The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is currently interviewing candidates to fill one existing vacancy while considering expanding the board further. The DDA is responsible for creating program, infrastructure, development and beautification recommendations to benefit local businesses, residents and visitors.
The application to apply to the DDA can be found here.
“The DDA does amazing work to help us achieve our Downtown Vision Master Plan, which includes addressing the challenges of parking in the downtown,” said Hackworth. “The DDA has been a tireless advocate for the downtown. We look forward to continuing to work with this critical group as well as business owners and residents of the downtown to help us grow our sense of community and place downtown.”
The Downtown Vision Master Plan was created in 2020 to outline how the City of St. Joseph can preserve and enhance its character as it grows in the years to come. As part of the planning process, 2,000 people were surveyed, with the majority citing parking as the biggest challenge while highlighting the importance of maintaining downtown’s charm.
“We are committed to rethinking the parking program design, ensuring it both addresses downtown parking and congestion issues and is implemented in a way that enhances the downtown,” said Hackworth. “We believe that by continuing our conversations and making thoughtful updates to the program, it will deliver all of the benefits we want for our local businesses in 2026 and beyond.”
