SOUTH AMBOY—Parking was a central topic at the Oct. 7 council business meeting.
A small planned parking lot on David Street is part of an agreement made last year with developer Edward Condiracci, who is building a multi-unit residential building on Augusta Street.
As part of the project, Condiracci is building a parking lot that would run between August and David streets. Three spaces will be dedicated for his tenants, and the remaining handful of spaces would be for use by the city.
How the city will use its spaces are up for debate; however, the consensus at the meeting was that the spaces should be used for people patronizing the Broadway area, and some sort of policy should be established to prohibit commuter parking.
Council members discussed whether the city should charge for parking; a parking station may be cost-prohibitive given the limited amount of spaces that would be available, according to Business Administrator Camille Tooker.
Any sort of parking relief is welcome, though, the council agreed.
“We’ve had a lot of issues in the area,” Tooker said.
Business owners and residents alike in the past have complained about the already limited parking, which can become scarcer at peak commuting times.
“A shared parking concept works,” she said.
Councilman Thomas Reilly said once the lot is available, the city should promote it to let people know there is an additional option.
However, Tooker stressed that the alternative to having too many people who need to park is one that’s far less preferable.
“If you don’t have a parking problem, then you really have a problem, because no one’s coming,” she said.