By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
 City Manager Terry Reidy addressed a crowded room at a special meeting with the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce Monday night. |
Amid discussions of parking problems, paving problems and a lack of foot traffic for downtown merchants, Asbury Park business owners learned three things this week.
Streets downtown will not be repaved for two years, parking meters are coming to the beachfront this year and the downtown next year, and the downtown streetscape design has been scaled back to save money.
At a packed meeting Monday night at City Hall, City Manager Terry Reidy explained to business owners that the work that was completed from January to April on the roads downtown made them better, even if they are not repaved.
While streets were torn up an entire new sewer line was installed, upgrading the entire system.
You wont have the backups some of you have had, Reidy said.
Reidy said the next steps for downtown include improved lighting, but streets, curbs and paving will not occur before 2010.
Reidy said it would cost about $500 to put surface coating on the roads, only to have them redone in two years.
He added that parking spaces will be re-striped before the summer season.
The roads arent pretty, but they work, he said.
Reidy admitted that the city has a $12 million deficit in its budget this year, and said he and other city officials will be meeting with state representatives to garner funding for the city.
It looks like the state is going to be generous with us…but not if we are spending on something that is going to be torn up.
One business owner told Reidy about a paint-like substance that can be put on quickly like a fresh can of paint.
Reidy responded, Well look at anything.
A new area of revenue will be parking meters which will line the Ocean Avenue area this summer season.
The cost of the meters is $350,000.
One business owner asked if the revenue generated from the meters will exceed the expense.
Why charge people to come to our lovely town, he said.
Reidy said it would, and will also help the city manage its parking through various zones and times allotted.
Without meters there is no incentive to move, said Reidy of drivers.
Reidy also said from a personal point of view that having to pay for parking is not a detriment to him going someplace.
Paying for parking is not a deterrent for me, not at all, he said.
People parking in a 12-hour zone will be further from high volume areas. The meters will encourage people to park longer in areas where turnover is not needed.
This will leave short term parking spaces open, close to the beach and shops, Reidy said.
Phase II of the downtown streetscape includes installing the meters in the area next year.
Reidy said employee parking for restaurant workers would most likely be along Wesley Lake.
Planning Board Chairman Dan DiBenedetto commented that he often hears complaints about parking from retailers, but said owners and employees park in front of their stores, leaving few spaces for customers.
Some business owners complained that the two-hour time limit for parking on downtown streets is not enforced by police.
Chief Mark Kinmon was at the meeting and said We do enforce it all over the city.
But business owners were not convinced.
Not on Mattison you dont, said Cynthia Hartwig, owner of Aunt Beas Market. Im guilty as well.
Reidy also said city officials have been holding visioning meetings for the city.
One topic discussed was the streetscape which has been scaled back from original plans that included entire sidewalks being built with pavers.
All business owners will be assessed a yearly fee of $1300 for every 25 feet of frontage over 20 years to cover expenses.
Do we need to be spending money on pavers? People dont come to your downtown because you have pretty pavers, Reidy said.
The committee decided that 100 percent of Cookman Avenue will be made of pavers, with 50 percent of Mattison, Bangs and Lake Avenues sidewalks covered with pavers and 100 percent concrete on Emory and Bond Streets.
This cut $1 million from the cost of the project, Reidy said.
Ed Simon, who owns Mr. Lockmith on Main Street, said Main Street needs to be well lit as well as Cookman.
He said he attended First Saturday and found Cookman to well lit but not Main Street or Ocean Avenue.
Resident and activist Steve Wider said the citys restaurants need to start adding buffet style meals and early bird specials to their menus.
We need a bakery in town, he said.
Wider said those ideas would help businesses stay afloat in the winter..
In the winter we could tap into that business, it would be more stable.
He also said if everybody shopped locally all the businesses in the city would be doing much better.
Dennis Carroll, a member of the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerces retail committee, said a new project included putting enlarged replicas of old postcards, with the original inscriptions placed in vacant stores.
Donna Harrison, co-owner of Wish You Were Here discussed what she called the big elephant in the room.
She was referring to valet parking, which she said hurts small businesses.
They get out of their cars and go into the restaurant and then get back into their cars, she said. We need people walking.
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