First of three new borough lots to open Sept. 1
By: Jennifer Potash
Monday marked the first day downtown business owners could apply for a new round of employee parking permits.
Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said roughly 20 businesses applied for the permits.
The borough plans to make 100 spaces available in three separate lots. The first lot to open in the phased program will be at Trinity Church off Mercer Street. Sept. 1 is the anticipated start for the permit program at the church parking lot.
By the fall, the borough expects to have lots in place at Merwick Rehab Hospital & Nursing Care off Bayard Lane and at the former Princeton Nursing Home off Maclean Street.
The monthly permits cost $30 and are sold to employers who then distribute the permits to their employees. Whether the employer covers the cost of the permits or passes the cost along to the employees is up to the individual owner, Mr. Bruschi said.
But to obtain permits the merchants and business owners must first complete a brief one-page survey.
"That was our only caveat," said Mr. Bruschi.
The borough intends to use the information from the surveys to craft a long-term employee parking plan such as a shuttle service, he said.
As of Monday afternoon the borough had just under a 33 percent return on the surveys that were due Aug. 1, Mr. Bruschi said.
"If we get between 50 and 60 (percent) I’ll be very happy," he said.
In another effort to provide downtown employees more parking, a Princeton Borough Council member and an Alexander Street resident are offering up their driveways for parking space and encouraging residents living near the business district to do likewise.
"I really hope Princeton residents will pitch in and help the merchants during this difficult time," Councilwoman Wendy Benchley said. Ms. Benchley said the program has attracted a few others to offer their driveways.
Anne Neumann, who suggested the idea earlier this year at a Princeton Borough Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting, said the driveway program is meant to be a stopgap measure.
Residents with single-lane driveways might be reluctant to participate but employees could provide an extra set of car keys so the vehicle could be moved in an emergency, she said.
Ms. Benchley admitted she had to do some lobbying at home to convince her family to sign up.
"Our driveway can be pretty busy," she said. "But we all have to do our part."