Asbury Park is limiting the number of employees parking passes it will sell for the central business district this year and totally eliminating guest parking passes citywide.
“People were buying too many guest passes and it is a luxury we can no longer afford in Asbury Park with our parking crisis,” said Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, who is on the city’s parking committee.
The city had sold 65 guest passes by the end of April and the $100 passes, which are good for an entire year, will not be sold after June1.
“We sold more passes in the last four months than we sold past year but will end their sale June 1,” Quinn said.
The city will also limit the number of employee parking passes it will sell in the central business district this year to 300. After than point, people will be put on a waiting list to purchase the $100 parking pass, which allows the holder to park in designated spaces.
Last year 220 employee parking passes were sold for the city’s central business district and about 253 have already been sold as of the end of April. Less than 300 employee parking passes were sold for the same area in 2014.
“We have sold an astronomical amount of employee parking passes, so far,” Quinn said.
The $100 fee, however, will remain unchanged for this year.
“The $100 fee is the same as last year and there will be no fee increase in 2015,” she said.
However, Quinn said there will be a fee increase in 2016 but by how much is not known yet.
Quinn said that she believes the conversion of three vacant lots at the oceanfront and near the downtown area into pay parking lots are on schedule to be done by Memorial Day weekend.
She said the city is also negotiating with the state to increase the number of public parking spaces in the state-owned Bangs Avenue garage and extend the parking hours.
At this point, people pay to park in the garage on weekdays but it is free on weekends.
“But that may change down the road,” Quinn said.