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Parking holiday
PJ Village Board suspends enforcement of metered lots from Nov. 15 thru March 15
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You can leave your pocket change at home when coming to Port Jefferson this winter. Metered parking will be "turned off" from Nov. 15 through March 15.
The Village Board passed the parking holiday by a 3-2 vote at its business meeting Monday. The original recommendation from the Economic Development Committee called for free parking beginning Nov. 1 and for the Village to cough up $5,000 to advertise the deal.
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| | | Forget about feeding the meters in lower Port Jefferson this winter. The Village Board has granted nonresidents a meter holiday. But beginning in mid-March when enforcement resumes expect longer hours of operation as a means to recoup lost revenue. Shown here is Jim Reneham of Center Moriches. Reneham, who works in the village, called the machines “not very user friendly.” Photo by Matthew Calamia. (click for larger version) | |
However, Mayor Margot Garant proposed rolling back the start date two weeks — during which time it is estimated the Village could collect as much as $13,000 in meter revenues. As for Village-funded advertising, Garant moved that the Village would pay $1,650 in matching funds as long as the Business Improvement District and the Chamber of Commerce both kicked in the same amount, totaling nearly $5,000. The Village share would come from an economic development budget line. That resolution passed unanimously, with Garant calling it a signal to the BID and the Chamber that the Village Board expects those entities to work together. "We are willing to cooperate if they do," the mayor said.
The final parking-related recommendation involved extending the hours of operation of the meters when they are turned back on in March. The main thrust was to extend the hours past the current 10 pm shut-off, either to 2 or 4 am, but running the meters 24/7 was also mentioned as an option. Garant said she would wait for further recommendations from the parking committee regarding hours of operation.
Of course the metered parking pay stations are never really shut off; the parking holiday and hours of operation refer to enforcement, which is suspended during the parking holiday. Signs will be placed on the pay stations and at lot entrances to alert visitors they do not have to feed the meters. Still, Village Treasurer Don Pearce said last winter during a similar parking holiday, thousands of dollars of revenue continued to flow into Village coffers. Pearce said he has seen people lifting the holiday wreaths designed to cover the money slot in order to put in their quarters, disregarding signs on the meter face that announce free parking.
Village Trustees Joe Erland and Carmine Dell Aquila voted against the meter holiday as proposed by Garant. "I'm just concerned about the revenue side," Dell Aquila said.
Village Trustee Leslea Snyder suggested the Village invite the media to a ceremonial "cloaking" of the meters as a way to announce the free parking policy to the public.
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