Finding a parking spot near the beach in St. Joseph during the summer can be difficult. Now the city is considering a scaled-down paid parking program aimed at keeping curbside spaces available for downtown businesses.
During peak summer months, beach traffic often spills into downtown St. Joseph, filling street parking near shops and restaurants.
Kelly Ewalt, the city’s development director, said the proposal is designed to increase turnover in the busiest areas.
“The main reason is to increase turnover in the high demand areas,” Ewalt said. “We don’t want beachgoers parking in front of your businesses.”
Earlier versions of the idea would have placed paid parking across a larger section of downtown. The current proposal narrows the plan to a smaller number of streets.
Under the proposal for 2026, paid parking would be limited to several downtown blocks, including State Street and Broad Street west of Main Street, along with Pleasant Street and Court Street east of Main.
“The 2026 program … the only paid parking is on State, Broad on the west side of Main … and on Pleasant and Court on the east side of Main,” Ewalt said.
Other nearby areas would remain free, which Ewalt said is meant to accommodate workers who park downtown during the day.
“That’s just to give employees plenty of places to park on the outer sides … away from the center of downtown,” Ewalt said.
The proposal is expected to go before the St. Joseph City Commission on March 16.
