A plan to install parking pay stations on several Red Bank streets has been put on hold as residents and business owners question whether such a move is necessary.
The Borough Council was scheduled to vote March 11 on whether to install 11 pay stations, dispersed throughout Monmouth Street and Bridge Avenue. After nearly an hour of protest from residents and local business owners, the ordinance was carried to the March 25 meeting.
The reason for the pay stations is to make sure there is turnover in the parking spaces, according to some borough officials.
“Those spaces will now become more prime,” Borough Administrator Stanley Sickels said. “We have two large residential complexes that are about to take occupancy. What we want is to make sure that those spaces on the streets are available for your customers.”
However, many business owners argued that if the two-hour parking limit currently in place were properly enforced, there would be no need for the pay stations.
“Nobody in our part of Monmouth Street says, ‘Look at those 96 tickets,’ ” said David Prown, owner of Prown’s Home Improvements on Monmouth Street. “All of us are telling you the truth. Your troops are not down there.”
Resident Peter Noble said the pay stations would hurt businesses whose customers only come in for a few minutes at a time, such as the bagel store or liquor store.
“These people thrived on the in-and-out business,” Noble said. “ … And they want to continue to thrive.”
Mary Jennings, owner of the Chowda House on Bridge Avenue, agreed that the pay stations might negatively impact business.
“The west side is finally coming around, and I’m so happy about it,” Jennings said. “We’ve been waiting so many years for this. Could you just give us a little bit of a break?”
Like Prown, Jennings argued that the two-hour parking limit should be better enforced.
“Right now, the two-hour rule that’s there has worked wonderfully for us,” Jennings said. “But I have people that park on Bridge Avenue, get on a train, and they’re gone all day long. So you would be able to get good revenue just by enforcing what we already have.”
According to Councilman Arthur Murphy III, chair of the parking committee, there are three employees in the borough’s parking department enforcing the two-hour parking law.
Along with Sickels, Murphy defended the pay stations. He noted their technology and functions, such as the way the stations allow motorists to pay for parking via phone and receive text message alerts when their parking time is almost complete.
“They’re easy to use, they keep data, and they let us know what’s happening and when it’s happening,” Murphy said.
The borough has already purchased the pay stations, totaling $135,308. But their installation has not yet been approved.
Seven of the pay stations would be located on Monmouth Street between Maple Avenue and the Red Bank train station. Six of the pay stations would be located on Bridge Avenue, between Oakland and Front streets.
Jackie Merlino, owner of Bagel Station on Monmouth Street, said she is going to lose customers if the pay stations are installed.
“I have customers complaining that they’re going to go to Grandma’s Bagels in Little Silver or Bagel Masters in Shrewsbury,” Merlino said. “I’m in a tough situation, and it’s time to complain right now.”
Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer agreed with many of the business owners who said that enforcement is the issue, and suggested that the parking department hire additional manpower.
She proposed that the borough hire an employee on a temporary, four-month basis to enforce parking in the area where the pay stations would be installed.
“I guess that could be explored,” Murphy said.
Councilwoman Kathy Horgan agreed with Schwabenbauer’s suggestion.
“I tend to agree with Linda, and I think we all agree it’s the enforcement that needs to be looked at,” Horgan said.
After the meeting, Schwabenbauer elaborated on her suggestion for hiring more enforcement.
“These people are successful business owners, and they’ve been around for a long time, and they know what they’re doing,” Schwabenbauer said. “They keep an eye on their surroundings, so I suspect they may have a point.”
She suggested pushing off the installation for six months.
“Let’s try it, because once we put those pay stations in, they don’t come back out,” Schwabenbauer said. “Let’s make sure we’re doing the right thing before we do it.”