Everyone has an opinion on whether or not Oxford needs a parking garage downtown.

We personally think it’s needed because anything that helps the dozens of people who work at businesses on the Square and have to use their hard-earned money to pay for parking to work in a small town helps. It is most definitely needed when employees who work on the Square have to park in the same parking areas as people going to football games on game days and walk a mile to work or catch a ride.

What we need to think of right now and thank profusely are the people who are serving on the Oxford Downtown Parking Advisory Commission. The members of the commission are being inundated with opinions from everyone and their uncle. We thank them for keeping a clear head, looking at the situation from both a business angle and a quality-of-life perspective and serving their fellow residents well.

A lot of time and energy is put into studying the need for a parking garage from both officials and volunteers serving on committees and commissions. Thank you for dedicating your time and energy into making a decision that will impact Oxford for decades to come.