| Author | Message | ||
     tototoo Citizen Username: Tototoo Post Number: 141 Registered: 1-2002 |
The parking sharks will go anywhere to avoid PAYING. I live in this Lovely Town and pay dearly in taxes for the privilege. Apparently, the Shop-Rite lot became a "Get out of Pay-for-Parking Free" situation. And then of course it became oh, oh, "No Parking, Fire Zone". Ooooh, the signs even got in the way via tickets issued by the Fire Department. The signs were promptly torn down by the ParkSharks. It just seems outrageous to me that Shop-Rite Liquors has to guard the few spaces alloted to their store. I have also noticed a LOT of all day parkers next to the Duck Pond on Mead. Go home, I say, Go Home. This is my Town and I want to be able to park at the local store, Community Center or Duck Pond anytime I choose; not when your commuting hours are over. Just my thoughts ... | ||
| Guesswho Citizen Username: Guesswho Post Number: 5 Registered: 9-2003 |
Level part of the Quarry hole, put in resident parking and run a jitney. | ||
| kevin Citizen Username: Kevin Post Number: 87 Registered: 2-2002 |
Look at Summit for example. They are about 20 minutes (by train) West of here and they have a tiered parking plan for residents and non-residents. Their rates depend on where or how close you want to park. One example is their parking garage. It looks as though a non-resident who doesn't have a permit would have to pay $14.00 to park in the garage for the workday: -------------- This facility has an escalating rate with a maximum of $14 day for non-permit holders. Residents and employees pay a maximum of $5 a day, and may reduce this to $3 by purchasing a coupon book for $75. The upper levels are free on Saturdays and Sundays. --------------- Their other non-permit lots are $5.00 for 24 hours, so I don't think that South Orange is out of line. The Shoprite lot has 2hr maximum parking signs posted. Obviously it is not enforced. The only way to get some compliance with any of the parking matters is to actually enforce with stiff fines. tototoo: I wondered why there were always so many empty cars parked on the road in front of the duck pond on Mead. What town did Fred Block say he lived in?? | ||
| vermontgolfer Citizen Username: Vermontgolfer Post Number: 87 Registered: 12-2002 |
kevin, he didn't, so I'm guessing, not S.O. | ||
| deadwhitemale Citizen Username: Deadwhitemale Post Number: 415 Registered: 5-2001 |
PSE&G trucks are now parking overnight at the SO train lot. This is illegal. It was more that for me on Wednesday night, because they parked three long trucks facing the south wall, so my car was boxed in, since it was facing the river channel, and at a right angle to the trucks, on of which being parked in the next slot to the east. I can't draw a map on line. So, after many short turns between my car and the one to my left, (the space next to my car mercifully was empty), I was able to leave. No ticket was visible on the three trucks. DWM | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 642 Registered: 4-2002 |
I would never want to allow all day parking for commuters on residential streets and that has been the position of the BOT for as long as I can remember and I hope that it does not change. DWM: I am not sure if PSE & G asked or received permission, but they might have notified the village that they wanted to park overnight. The village tends to give permission to residents (or businesses) who for some reason or another need to park overnight as long as it is not on a regular basis. For instance, my daughter missed the last train one night so she notified the PD. A once a year type of situation. Kevin: I am sure he does not live in S. Orange. Furthermore, his logic escapes me since he did not put his name on the NJ Transit lot list. There are some parcels of land in Newark, but security was an issue. The thought is that once you cross into Newark, why not just go to Penn Station in Newark and park there (approx. $175.00/month). I think we need to come up with more parking for residents who commute. Non-residents need to figure out other options such as car-pooling to the NJ Transit lot, petitioning their town for a jitney service or parking in Summit. However, there will always be people like Fred who will go out of their way to avoid paying for parking and try to twist the blame towards others. In this case he thinks it is the fault of S. Orange and now threatens to take his car to the Baird center. | ||
| Lizziecat Citizen Username: Lizziecat Post Number: 42 Registered: 5-2003 |
Mr. Rosner; Something should also be done about commuters who park in the SO Middle School lot during the summer. The lot fills up, and there is no space for people who want to use the pool. Perhaps a ban on barking before 9:00 A.M. would be a solution. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 3456 Registered: 5-2001 |
Just a quick question..and a comment.  I was under the impression that the NJ Transit lot to the west of the station was, as the NJ Transit lots in MW are open to all. Is this the case? Sooner or later SO is going to have to put parking restrictions inforce around the train station, as Maplewood had to do several years ago. The attraction of a 30 minute ride to Penn Station attracts folks from Livingston, West Orange and elsewhere. | ||
| fred block Citizen Username: Zachary2 Post Number: 11 Registered: 1-2003 |
Update on the Shop Rite Lot: This morning I noticed only a couple of cars parked in the lot at about 7:30AM. As I had indicated last week, commuters (both SO and non-SO) will not pay parking fees that are almost double the rate in the daily and meter lots. Maybe, SO Parking Authority will realize their mistake and charge more appropriate fees or maybe they are happy to have an empty lot. With regard to the waiting list, I have been on the list for over a year and have only moved up a little. The Parking Authority estimates an additional year until a spot opens up. I do not understand MRosner's interpretation of my prior comments. Maybe MRosner needs to spend sometime reading my comments and curtail his conclusory statements. I at no time proposed parking near the tennis courts. In fact, I think the walk is quite long. My point is that some commuters will do this based on the recent change in the Shop Rite lot. My point about allowing parking on the street was for only SO residents who live too far to walk to the train station. Shouldn't those residents be given this option by payment of a fee for a permit. Those residents who live near the train station knew what they were getting (walk to train station, train noises and cars on their streets). | ||
| fred block Citizen Username: Zachary2 Post Number: 12 Registered: 1-2003 |
The lot to the west of the train station is open to all. It has monthly spots (2 year wait) and daily spots (about 60) which are all full by 7AM. Parking is already restricted on the nearby streets. | ||
| Guesswho Citizen Username: Guesswho Post Number: 7 Registered: 9-2003 |
Well Fred, if the lot is still almost empty at 7:30, maybe South Orange doesn't need any more parking. Maybe you out of towners have gone away! | ||
| fred block Citizen Username: Zachary2 Post Number: 13 Registered: 1-2003 |
Guesswho: Maybe you should look at the surrounding streets and the tennis courts to see how many commuters are parking there then you can say that SO does not need any more parking lots. I am glad your tax money is going to man an empty lot. | ||
| kevin Citizen Username: Kevin Post Number: 88 Registered: 2-2002 |
Where did you get your free parking fix today Fred? | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 644 Registered: 4-2002 |
Lizzicat: The parking lot at the middle school is controlled by the Board of Ed. I met with them to see if they would be interested in coming up with a system in conjunction with the parking authority. They don't seem to see it as a real problem yet, but I am sure they will. Bobk: The NJ transit lot is open to any one. There are daily spots and permit spots which can be obtained by submitting your name. The wait has been about two years. Fred: The point Guesswho is correctly making is that there seems to be a large number of non-residents who used the shop-rite lot. My remarks are based on your comments and your refusal to answer a simple question. I find it amazing how a non-resident is telling S. Orange how they should accomodate their needs. Have you asked your town council to put in a jitney service? Have you considered parking at the Shop-Rite lot in Orange by the Brich Church station? Have you looked into parking in Milburn or Summit(I know, the train ticket will cost you more from those towns)? How about a short drive to Newark and parking there ($175.00/ month)? Or have you decided the only solution is that S. Orange should provide a spot for you. Did you park in the Shop-rite lot this morning? As I pointed out, the taxpayers are not spending one dime for manning the lot at the shop-rite. The parking authority is manning the lot and is doing so without adding any employees. My guess is that in time the lot will start to fill again as people find out there is a reasonable option out there. What we will have to spend tax dollars on is having parking ordinances changed and having the police do daily checks to make sure that commuters are not parking on residential streets or at the tennis courts. By bringing up the spaces at the tennis courts, it was clear what the implication was - a thinly veiled threat that you will park anywhere you can to avoid paying and were more than happy to pass on that information to others to try and force the rate to be lowered. Fred, just to show you I have a very open mind and would love to discuss this with you, why don't you come to the next village meeting at village hall (free parking in the evening, even for non-residents) on 10/15 at 7:30 p.m. Of course all speakers are asked to give their name and address. | ||
| fred block Citizen Username: Zachary2 Post Number: 14 Registered: 1-2003 |
Kevin: I find your comment insulting but to be expected from someone such as yourself. For your information, I gladly paid for parking in the amount of $3.00 (not $5). I would be curious to know how many people parked in the Shop Rite lot this morning? Has anyone driven by the lot? Msrosner: How do you know that a large number of non-SO were using Shop Rite? Did someone take a survey? Let us not speculate and instead base our comments on the truth. I for one, have no idea if a large number of non-SO used the Shop Rite lot. My point on the Shop-Rite lot is that the costs were above the other lots in town. If they would like people not to use the lot by charging $5 then that is fine. If the lot is empty today, then I am sure many commuters used the meter spots, Mountain Station, street parking or even the tennis court parking. Again, I am not sure but the cars went somewhere. I have not considered Brick Church since that is too far from my home and I am sure parking is not allowed in the Shop Rite lot. I also would not consider parking in Newark and paying $175 as I am sure many commuters would not pay this amount. As to threats, I find your comment insulting but to be expected based on your prior comments. I was merely pointing out a fact that many commuters may take advantage of parking near the courts. As indicated before, I will not park there. As to residential streets, I again state that some commuters will look to park there (including SO Commuters). I appreciate your invitation and I will try to make it if I can get out of work early that night. I hope you understand that my major point in this discussion was only the rate charged in Shop Rite Parking lot. I think that if they charged $3 per day, the lot would be full and those fees would go to SO. If it is empty, then no fees are generated, even if there is no costs to SO. Maybe after a few weeks, SO will realize that rates are too high. I suppose the market will decide if the rates are too high based on the number of cars in the lot. | ||
| peteglider Citizen Username: Peteglider Post Number: 253 Registered: 8-2002 |
all this excitement over parking? then maybe $5 is *too* cheap! ;-) Pete | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 645 Registered: 4-2002 |
Lizzicat: I will pass the suggestion on to them. Fred: Sorry if you find the comments insulting, but I find it offensive that you suggest the problem with parking for non-resident commuters needs to be solved by S. Orange or that you should be the one dictating what the fee should be. As I pointed out earlier, we were looking to discourage parking at that site. As you point out it is a matter of supply and demand. Have you seen what they charge in Summit for non-resident parking? I mentioned several alternatives because you have not said what town you live in. The shop-rite at the Brick Church station was allowing commuters to park without charge. It is closer to the city so although it might take ten minutes longer to drive there, but the train ride will be shorter. I know some people who live in Livingston who park there as well as some who park in Orange at the train station. The midtown direct has been wonderful for many commuters (myself included). Before it came, there were plenty of spaces in the commuter lots. NJ Transit added almost 300 spaces as what they hoped to be ample parking for the added commuters. It fell way short as it proved much more popular than they expected. Not enough trains, cars, seats, or parking spaces. South Orange is not going solve the parking problems for all of Essex County. We will continue to try to add spaces for commuters who live in the village. The shop-rite lot is not going to be a long term solution. | ||
| fred block Citizen Username: Zachary2 Post Number: 15 Registered: 1-2003 |
Mrosner: Thank you for responding to my comments. My intent was not to dictate anything to SO. I was merely trying to raise an issue which I thought was relevant to all commuters (including SO). If SO is seeking to discourage parking in Shop Rite then I suppose they have been successful. All I was trying to do was propose and hope that SO listens to an idea until the site is developed. Charge the same as the other lots, collect the fees and provide a service to commuters. If they want to limit it to SO commuters, then great. The non-SO commuters will find alternative legal parking spaces elsewhere. But please lets not get into a shouting match between SO and Non-SO commuters, which is a waste of time. With regard to Orange and Brick, I would only question the safety of parking there. Also, many commuters enjoy the shopping downtown in SO, which is not available in Brick or Orange. Your point about the success of the midtown direct is completely accurate. Let us hope that NJ Transit and the State can assist in the long-term solution to the parking shortage in SO. I would not be happy of SO residents were required to spend any additional funds for parking lots. A two or three tier parking deck sounds like a great idea as long as SO residents do not need to pay for it. | ||
| kevin Citizen Username: Kevin Post Number: 90 Registered: 2-2002 |
Fred: I am sorry that my comments were insulting to you, I apologize. Next time I won't apologize since it is "expected" from a person like myself. Might I ask where you parked for $3.00 since you mention above that the daily spots are full at 7am but you also drove past the nearly empty ShopRite lot at 7:30am? Did you happen to luck out today and find a daily spot? Do you usually check the daily lot before you resort to the ShopRite lot? just curious | ||
| trapper Citizen Username: Trapper Post Number: 26 Registered: 8-2002 |
Mrosner, If there is a supply/demand problem of parking in South Orange, why does South Orange continue to permit developers to construct huge multi unit residential properties? Gaslight Commons, while near the village and train does have parking spaces doesn't it? Don't the folks looking to move there own cars? Same goes for the quarry. Where are all those new residents going to park for the train? Or for village shopping? What about the new super market? Aren't there new residential units planned as part of the deal? Where are those residents going to park, and where are the Shop-Rite (commuter) parkers going to park once the store opens? Besides the horrible traffic conditions on SO Ave, the empty storefronts proclaiming "coming soon", and a shortage of viable parking, there's a unattractiveness to the village, imho. All these problems are directly related. If it's too cumbersome to shop in South Orange, people will take their business elsewhere. Please stop shoehorning more residents into our train stations, schools, parking spots, parks, streets, green spaces, etc. Enough is enough. |
