WEST WINDSOR: New fee to wait for parking may be $75

By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — The West Windsor Parking Authority is going forward with a plan to significantly increase the application fee for a parking space, in an effort to whittle down the long waiting list.
   Currently the fee to add a name to the list is $5, but under a new proposal awaiting approval from N.J. Transit, that fee would go up to $75, according to Parking Authority Chairman Andy Lupo.
   The steeper application fee is intended to make the list accurately reflect the number of people who are serious about a spot, he said, as the authority considers the construction of additional lots or garages.
   Currently, it takes years between filing an application and actually receiving a spot. But half of people who are offered spots turn it down, he said.
   ”We really hope this will help ensure that we have the right number of people on the list,” he said.The majority of the fee, which would begin with new applicants this summer, would either go toward a first payment or be refunded if a name is taken off the list. About $10 would go toward administrative costs.
   ”We’re not using it as a money maker,” he said.
   The authority owns two lots: the Wallace Road permit lot, on the New York bound side of the tracks, and the Vaughn Drive lot, on the Philadelphia bound side. They are open only to West Windsor residents at a rate of $100 for three months.
   A recent count showed nearly 2,000 people on the waiting list for the Wallace Road lot, and close to 1,000 people on the list for the Vaughn Drive lot.
   The third lot, owned by N.J. Transit, is located on the Philadelphia bound side of the tracks and is open to all applicants at a rate of $165 for three months. The waiting list at this lot is the longest, at close to 4,000.
   N.J. Transit has responded positively to the proposal in past communication, Mr. Lupo said. But even if it rejects the change, the authority plans to go forward with increasing the application fee for the lots it owns.
   The authority is also considering selling permits for an additional 35 spots in the Wallace Road lot, he said. In recent months, more spaces have been remaining open all day, he said, freeing them up for use for daily parkers.
   But the authority would rather those spots be given to West Windsor residents, he said.