By PAUL BOOTH
Asbury Park is considering, among other options, a moratorium on paid parking at the beachfront for the winter or a suspension of paid parking during the evening hours.
A decision on how to handle the parking for the winter months is expected to be made at the next City Council meeting Oct. 15.
City officials, members of the subcommittee on parking and representatives from boardwalk developer Madison Marquette met at city hall on Friday to discuss the immediate future of the paid parking system currently in place on the city’s beachfront.
Several business owners, as well as residents and visitors, have voiced their displeasure over the new parking system at the beachfront. The program, which went into effect in August, is user unfriendly, confusing and poorly marked, opponents say.
Councilman Ed Johnson said the city has already taken steps to alleviate some of those concerns, like ordering new signage, which has not yet arrived. But he admitted that more could be done and that was the purpose of calling Friday’s meeting.
“It was a very productive meeting,” said City Manager Terry Reidy, without giving specifics of what was discussed. “It’s not all solidified yet but we’re off to a good start in terms of the concerns raised by business owners.”
At last week’s council meeting some boardwalk pavilion business owners complained about the paid parking at the beachfront.
“The parking situation is hurting my business,” said Kathy Penna, owner of Brielle Cyclery, located in the Fifth Avenue Pavilion. “When people want to park for five minutes to drop off a bike for a repair, they don’t want to have to pay a meter. Something has got to be figured out.”
Helen Doyle, project manager of McLoone’s Supper Club and Salt Water Cafe, said she has seen the situation grow more tenuous as time has passed.
“At first we just heard whispered complaints from costumers. Now we have irate people bringing their tickets into the restaurant and making a scene,” she said.
She suggested the city suspend paid parking starting October 15 through the winter. Kathleen Banks, owner of Corazza, an antique shop in the First Avenue Pavilion, suggested that if the council weren’t willing to suspend paid parking entirely for the winter they should consider enforcing it only during daylight hours. As for the current plan she said, “if you were to ask the retailers, they’ll say it is shortsighted.”
Reidy thinks the city is in a better position now to move forward after Friday’s meeting.
“We are in a position to come back on Oct. 15, and make some precise recommendations for where we are going,” he said.
“This is about coming up with the best idea,” said Johnson adding that Friday’s meeting was particularly constructive because it brought fresh perspectives to the table that had not previously been considered, like loading and taxi areas on the boardwalk.
In reaching the best idea, Johnson said it was the city’s job to both protect the taxpayer but also to not “break the backs of business owners.”
“We know keeping a boardwalk business operating during the winter months is going to be a challenge and we want the owners down there to be helped rather than hindered by our decisions,” he said.
Johnson said that by their next meeting on October 15 the council will be ready to make a temporary decision on how to handle parking for the winter months, but they will continue to work towards a permanent parking solution.
“We’re going to work together with residents and business owners to come up with a plan that’s the best fit for all of Asbury Park,” he said.
paul@thecoaster.net.
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