GAINESVILLE, Ga. — An effort to enact a paid parking plan in the City of Gainesville is getting pushback from residents over concerns of accessibility and how it would impact local businesses.
The city announced the program in February, setting the month of May for when it would start.
Parking will have a $4 per hour rate starting on the third hour of being in a parking spot, according to officials.
Now, a petition by residents has hundreds of signatures, all from people who want the program canceled.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The petition was started by small business owner Justin Holland.
In the petition, Holland says his business is located in the “charming downtown square of Gainesville,” and that along with his fellow business owners, he is worried about how paid street parking will impact business and visitors in the community.
However, in the city’s February announcement about the program, officials said the paid parking plan would actually help local businesses by encouraging people to cycle out so new visitors can come in.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Principal praised after tackling suspected gunman who entered high school
- Teen potentially exposed info of hundreds of thousands of Georgians: ‘I was addicted to hacking’
- Aspiring singer killed days before birthday; police searching for person of interest
Holland’s petition also says that ParkGVL, the company Gainesville has contracted to manage the paid parking program is not well-rated by the Better Business Bureau, “reflecting various customer complaints and unresolved issues.”
When the city announced the paid parking zones, officials said it would discourage long-term parking in order to allow more people to access parking spaces, more quickly, such as the elderly or those with mobility issues or injuries.
City officials said in their initial announcement that revenue from the paid parking program would go back to the city, but for those who don’t want to pay, there are still options.
“Despite the City continuing to offer free, untimed and covered parking in the Main Street and Gainesville North parking decks, we have for many years observed drivers occupying parking spaces directly on the square and side streets for extended periods of time — throughout the day and evening,” City Manager Bryan Lackey said in a previous statement. “I’d even go as far to say that sometimes we observe the same vehicles occupying spaces for six, seven, even eight hours straight or longer.”
The paid parking program was also said to only cover 15% of the city’s public parking options.
When the program starts, the following areas will have pay-to-park in early May:
- Bradford Street
- Brenau Avenue
- Broad Street
- Green Street
- Main Street
- Maple Street
- Spring Street
- Washington Street
Free parking will still be available here:
- Main Street Parking Deck at 301 Main St. SW
- Gainesville North Parking Deck at 100 Brenau Ave. NE
- Hall County Parking Facility at 225 Green St. SE
In a follow-up statement shared with Channel 2 Action News, City Manager Bryan Lackey said:
“The Gainesville City Council has discussed downtown parking solutions for at least the last 10 years, if not longer, to find a way to address complaints of vehicles being parked in the downtown surface spaces for 8+ hours a day. Over this time, staff have researched and evaluated various methods to find a solution that best fits our downtown. We feel this model best fits our downtown to assist both the vast majority of the downtown businesses and the public trying to find parking to visit and utilizes these businesses, by creating more turnover in what we have consistently been told are the more premium spaces in our downtown.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
