Not so fast on removal of meters
Friday, November 23, 2012
The Ridgewood News
https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/180560451_Letter__Not_so_fast_on_removal_of_meters.html
Not so fast on removal of meters
The following letter was also sent to the Ridgewood mayor and council.
To the editor:
I am writing in response to the article in the Nov. 16 edition of The Ridgewood News titled “Meters on their way out?” (Page A1). This rebuttal is an opinion of mine as a shop owner, not as president of The Ridgewood Guild.
A more in-depth study needs to be conducted before it is decided to remove the parking meters within the CBD. Free street parking does not necessarily mean ample parking for customers. In my opinion, it gives the opportunity for commuters to park free of charge on the street the entire day. Streets such as North Broad, South Broad and Chestnut would be filled with commuters taking up much needed consumer parking.
Who wouldn’t choose to park free on the street instead of paying $12 a day for a commuter lot? I’m sure many commuters would walk three or four blocks to the train station if we offered free street parking, thus infringing on consumer parking spaces. Not to mention the shop and restaurant employees who would take advantage of this. Employees parking on the street are already a problem. I watch employees feeding the street meters all day long to prevent being ticketed.
Furthermore, all towns comparable to Ridgewood have metered parking. Montclair, Englewood, Westfield, etc. We cannot compare ourselves to adjacent towns who are a fraction of the size of Ridgewood. A more viable solution to the ticketing problem would be to raise the time span on the meters. If the meters had a three- or four-hour limit, our customers would spend more time shopping, dining and using our professional services with less worries about getting ticketed.
If we are going to promote ourselves as a shopping and dining haven, we need to be more “customer friendly.” We have frustrated enough locals and non-residents throughout the years, myself included. We are giving our customers the option of shopping in Woodcliff Lake and/or the many nearby malls where parking is free and ample. It is time to bring their business back to town so that we can all make a decent living and see the town thrive again.
Tony Damiano
Ridgewood
https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/180560451_Letter__Not_so_fast_on_removal_of_meters.html
Parking should not be free as to discourage ‘camping’ by the groups Tony highlights in his letter. A ‘muni meter’ would cut down the number of meters to be maintained and give commuters a variety of payment options and not just quarters. Also, increasing the time by an hour or two will allow for less stress when it comes to personal services.
The flip side of coin is that the police enforcement for meters should be reduced and applied to pedestrian and driver safety. The cellphone drivers and speeding are as obvious as ever but enforcement is almost zero when you compare it to meter maids salivating over ticketing overtime shoppers.
It’s really about priorities.
Reduce enforcement? What do you mean just look the other way. Why have a law on the book.
#2 just drive through town it is total lack of enforcement.
I think muni meters are the way we should be going