Borough Council approved a pair of ordinances this week that will provide for two-hour and permit parking in Hightstown’s two public lots.
By: Scott Morgan
HIGHTSTOWN For some borough business owners, the future of parking in town is looking good.
A pair of ordinances regulating parking and enforcement for two borough parking lots were unanimously adopted by the Borough Council Monday. Two-hour parking limits, enforced between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, will be imposed in the entire lot located on North Main Street, beside Theo’s Lakeside Restaurant and in part of the lot along Railroad Avenue between Stockton Street and Rogers Avenue.
The Stockton Street lot also will have designated permit-only parking available at $100 per year. The permit-only spaces are designed to allow local merchants to park and thus free spaces for customers. The yearly term will run between July 1 and June 30.
The move to regulate parking downtown is among the first steps to physically alter the borough for its downtown revitalization project. In recent months, the Borough Council has discussed its hopes that by ridding the free parking lots of all-day parkers, an often-disorganized situation could become a more customer-friendly atmosphere. At the crux of hoped-for business traffic is the simple notion that borough patrons need to feel they can actually stop and park.
Local merchants are hopeful too. At Lisa Marie’s Gifts and Unique Crafts, owner Lisa Brown said she is behind the rules. So long as the borough steels its resolve, she said, parking should be a nonissue.
"If they maintain it, it will work," she said.
Craig Stanton, an employee at the shop, agreed. Stating he feels the borough is heading in the proper direction, Mr. Stanton said the new parking rules ultimately will help business by allowing a better turnover of customers.
As for the two-hour limits, Mr. Stanton said he thinks it is a fair deal.
"We don’t want to be harsh to customers, we want them to shop. But we want to be fair to other customers, too," he said. "I really, truly believe in (the borough’s) parking plan."
Walter Wolnomiejski, owner of Hightstown Jewelers, said he also is behind the new regulations.
"The first thing is to let people know there is parking," Mr. Wolnomiejski said. Once people know there are places they can parkbusiness, he hopes, should improve.
Mike Theokas, owner of Theo’s Lakeside Restaurant, said that though he supports the new parking policy, he does not see the new regulations altering his business that much. With his business abutting the Main Street lot, Mr. Theokas said it is obvious that the lot is the primary place for his customers to park. But his business day does not really begin until lunch. Lunch customers, he said, usually eat and leave within an hour or so, and, therefore, the two-hour restrictions do not affect him that much. By the time his evening customers arrive, typically after 5 p.m., the enforcement time of 7 p.m. would be expired for anyone who stayed longer than two hours, he said.
Still, though he does not feel his business will directly benefit from parking, Mr. Theokas said he feels a better parking situation will have a beneficial impact on the town overall by drawing more foot traffic. That, in turn, translates into more potential customers for his restaurant.
"It (the new parking situation) is consistent with what we’re trying to do here," he said. "Bring more people."