Multi-space Parking Pay Station at Chestnut Street lot is a “lemon” says Village official
January 19,2013
Boyd A. Loving
6:49 PM
The Chestnut Street Municipal Parking Lot multi-space pay station is a “lemon.” So says Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser, who categorized the unit as such during remarks made at a recent Village Council Work Session. Mr. Rutishauser’s remarks came in response to questions raised by Village Council members, who are now considering installation of a single, multi-space pay station (not the same brand used on Chestnut Street) at the Route 17 Park & Ride facility.
Data obtained via an Open Public Records Act request does indeed show many trouble reports associated with the Chestnut Street unit. When the unit is out of service, which seems to happen most often in damp/rainy weather, parking fees can’t be collected. Also, if a parking summons is inadvertently issued during a time when the unit has been reported as out of service, Violations Bureau and/or Municipal Court personnel are required to void the summons if it is challenged (not to mention the inconvenience of individuals having to appear at Violations or Municipal Court).
The staff of The Ridgewood Blog wonders why this unit remains in service if it is so problematic. Are the total revenues lost when the machine was broken less than, equal to, or greater than what it would have cost to add a second unit, or to replace the existing machine with a better model? Not to mention the hassle associated with making a trip to Village Hall if you receive a summons in error.
The Ridgewood Blog also believes that there’s a lesson to be learned here. And that lesson is, have a back up unit in place when deploying automated, multi-space pay stations in large municipal lots. The revenue you’re able to continue collecting, and the savings in the administrative time being spent voiding summonses,, may more than make up for the extra money spent on an additional unit.
Welcome Back…. Boyd…. missed you.
These are used successfully in many towns. Why can’t we get it right?
This whole thing is so ridiculous. Why are they going to just get one unit? Why can’t they take credit cards? Who walks around with tons of coins? They definitely need a bunch of these and they need to take credit cards. As usual, our Village Engineer is messing things up.