NOVEMBER 16, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015, 2:35 PM
BY NICHOLAS KATZBAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE MONTCLAIR TIMES
Thomas Brown of Nelson Nygaard, a New York City-based transportation consulting firm, has been making rounds and fielding questions at Montclair’s ward meetings.
His firm has been consulting the Township Council and other municipal offices on a parking survey, hoping to answer the many questions and complaints from townsfolk regarding what some view as a dearth of available and appropriately timed parking spaces.
During this past Thursday’s 1st Ward community meeting, Brown said, “Every town I go to, whether it’s New York City, Washington, D.C., or small towns like Davenport, Iowa, everyone is convinced they have inadequate parking supplies.”
Brown explained it is common to see “congestion of demand” in certain areas, and the possibility to shift demand to other areas that are underutilized.
The consultant used the word “management” to explain the study’s overall purpose, but he did not take the construction of new parking facilities off the table. He highlighted the importance of seeking alternative solutions that do not require the construction of new spaces. “That’s where we start. If we feel, at the end of the day, it’s not enough, then we start talking about supply.”
After the meeting, Brown spoke with The Montclair Times, and broke down his company’s strategy into three stages.
First, he said, the firm will look at how many available parking spaces are in a municipality – in this case, Montclair. Next, it would look at the busiest time for a shopping district, or other area with congested parking. Third, it would count how many spaces in that area are being used during the district’s peak hours, and more importantly, other nearby parking areas that are not being used.
“To give you an example,” said Brown, “in Vineland, NJ, on their main street the on-street meters would be totally full, but the lots behind the businesses were half empty.
