By Allison Perrine | aperrine@tworivertimes.com
RED BANK – The borough council discussed extending paid parking periods in Red Bank by three or four hours per day at the Wednesday, March 4 council workshop meeting.
The discussion arises around the same time the council is preparing to install new parking meters in parts of town. Because of that, now is a good time to consider moving ahead with the paid parking extension so the borough can program the new meters appropriately, according to borough administrator Ziad Shehady. He said it can prevent the governing body from having to order additional signage later on or having to reprogram the new meters, should the council decide to move ahead with the plan after the new meters have been installed.
No decisions were made at the March 4 meeting. The discussion will continue in April.
“This is one of those things that…may not be the most popular, but it is the thing we need to do to better manage our parking inventory,” said Shehady.
The council has been working on its parking situation for over a year after it hired Manhattan-based Walker Consultants to conduct a comprehensive parking study in town. The study provided an in-depth examination of the existing parking conditions in Red Bank and suggested ways to improve and address the needs. That included the idea to increase paid parking hours to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Currently, anyone parking in Red Bank must pay to do so from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Parking is free throughout the borough on Sundays.
“There is no reason daytime customers should pay and nighttime customers shouldn’t,” Walker Consultants said in the study.
Councilwoman Kate Triggiano suggested that the pay period be shifted to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., which she said is “more than reasonable” compared to other downtowns and their rates, like Asbury Park or New Brunswick. “When I’m walking in the evening at night, I often see people trying to pay their meter after 6 p.m. And I stop and I say it’s free, and they look dumbfounded that they’re visiting our town and they don’t have to pay anything to us.”
She said the idea has been tossed around for about six to 10 years and that the parking committee was recently in unanimous agreement for this to be the next step to address parking in Red Bank. “As leaders we’re put here to make the decisions for the town in the best interest of the town,” she said.
Councilman Hazim Yassin, on the other hand, said he opposed the plan as it was discussed that day. “Not necessarily long term, but as of today I would be opposed,” he said. “I think we need more time to speak with some more of the residents, to our businesses.”
The discussion has been kicked back to the parking committee, which includes council members Erik Yngstrom, Ed Zipprich and Kathy Horgan. It will come back to the council at an April workshop meeting, Shehady said.
The article originally appeared in the March 12-18, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
