Borough seeking to gauge the number of downtown retail and restaurant employees who need parking.
By: Jennifer Potash
Princeton Borough will be one step closer to its downtown retail employee parking system next week.
Employers who are prospective permit purchasers must first fill out a survey from the borough seeking to gauge the number of downtown retail and restaurant employees who need parking and from where those workers are entering Princeton.
"It is vital we get that information as we evaluate options for a permanent (parking) solution," said Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi.
The survey will be hand-delivered to every "shop and storefront" in the borough beginning Monday, Mr. Bruschi said.
The surveys are due back to the borough Aug. 1.
Unlike the borough’s resident parking permit program, individual employees will not be able to buy permits from the municipality.
Instead, the employer will purchase the permits. Whether the business owner absorbs the $30-a-month cost of each permit or requires the employee to pay is strictly up to the owner, Mr. Bruschi said.
This approach allows the borough and the retail community to partner together to solve the parking problems, Mr. Bruschi said.
"We want them to have some stake in this," he said.
The employers must come to Borough Hall to pick up the permits.
"That way, we can answer questions in person and clear up any miscommunications," he said.
Since the Princeton Borough Council approved the plan earlier this month, several dozen merchants have called Borough Hall seeking the permits, Mr. Bruschi said.
"That’s very encouraging," he said.
By early August, the borough expects to have its permit system in place for the Trinity Church metered parking lot off Mercer Street. The lot has about 40 spaces, but only a portion will be used for downtown employees the rest will be for church parishioners and staff and clients of the Trinity Counseling Services, Mr. Bruschi said.
The parking spaces will be numbered, Mr. Bruschi said. A permit space could be used for more than one employee, such as workers on different shifts, he said.
After September, two other lots will be available for employee-permit parking.
A new lot will be created on the grounds of the Merwick Rehab Hospital and Nursing Care Unit off Bayard Lane. The Merwick lot will abut the rear of the YMCA and YWCA parking lot and will be accessible to vehicular and pedestrian traffic from Merwick’s Bayard Lane entrance, Mr. Bruschi said.
A third lot, off Maclean Street, will be to the rear of developer J. Robert Hillier’s development, The Waxwood, at the former Princeton Nursing Home. After the site is readied for renovation, a portion of the existing parking lot will be allotted for borough use for permit parking, Mr. Bruschi said.
Phasing the program in, one lot at a time, will let the borough fix any problems with the new system, Mr. Bruschi said. Through the temporary permit system, the borough expects to gain about 100 parking spaces, Mr. Bruschi said.
The permits are not a huge revenue booster for the borough, which has lost about $200,000 annually in parking revenue from the closure of the Spring Street Park & Shop lot to accommodate environmental remediation and the construction of the new parking garage.
Mr. Bruschi said the borough will split the revenue equally with the three property owners.
The information gleaned through the survey will help guide the municipality in developing a permanent program for downtown employee parking.
Talk of a jitney service with remote parking has circulated through Borough Council and some advisory boards and commissions for several years. Some discussion has taken place about a possible joint program with the borough, Princeton Township and Princeton University for a shuttle service.
Also, the borough has lost one of its long-term parking lots. The 10-hour meters were removed from the lot at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church this week, Mr. Bruschi said. The church did not renew its lease with the borough, citing parking demands from parishioners and its school.
Mr. Bruschi said the borough is in talks with some landowners in the east end of town for temporary parking.
Princeton University allows public parking in its surface lots off William Street after 5 p.m. on weekdays and during weekends.
Any merchant who does not receive a survey should contact the administrator’s office at (609) 497-7622. Information about the temporary parking program will be available at the borough’s Web site, www.princetonboro.org.