You can hear the whole council discussion on parking meter commencement at asburyradio.com. Maureen
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > ......when visitors to beachfront will begin paying for parking. does > that mean residents have free parking ? > _Parking Meters Ready In City_ > (http://thecoaster.net/wordpress/2008/07/17/parking-meters-ready-in- city/) > > > (http://thecoaster.net/wordpress/2008/07/17/parking-meters-ready-in- city/3075/) By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI > The spaces have been lined and numbered, the meters are in place and now it > is up to the City Council to decide when visitors to the Asbury Park > beachfront will begin paying for parking. > The council was expected to set a timetable for when the meters will start > being used at its meeting Parking Meters Wednesday night. > Councilman Ed Johnson said he wants the plan to be implemented in a smart > way. > âWe want to make sure all the pieces are in place before beginning phase I,â > he said. > âThis is something new for Asbury Park, we havenât had meters for over 20 > years.â > The new meters will accept credit cards, debit cards, coins and bills, said > City Engineer Brian Grant. > Sixteen of the 32 meters, which cost $13,400 each, have been installed at the > beachfront. The program is scheduled to begin there this year and eventually > be extended to the downtown area, the transportation and city hall area and > Main Street. > Grant said the city will be posting notices and putting up signage at each > meter, including instructions. > The meters can be replenish anywhere in town, allowing a driver to put money > in a meter at one end of the beach, walk to the other end, and recharge the > meter located there. > Grant said the machine will print out a receipt with a transaction number > that patrons can use to recharge the parking meter. > The meters were purchased through a co-op in Cranford, allowing the city to > purchase meters with more features, such as accepting bills and not only > coins. > âWe wanted to offer customers as many pay options as possible,â he said. > Each meter can register up to 10,000 spaces. > Eventually, said Grant, there are plans to implement a Smart Card for Asbury > residents and those who work in the city. > Grant said city officials investigated the use of similar parking meters in > other towns including Cape May, Westfield and Pt. Pleasant where the meters > generated $1.6 million last year. > Regarding some criticism that the timing for beginning the plan is not right, > Johnson said, âNow is the time to put the procedure in place to begin to > manage our parking.â > Johnson said he expects glitches, but says they will learn as they go. He > pointed out that the meters are a way to raise revenues in ways other than > through property taxes. > âThis is a user fee â" we need to look at creative ways to raise revenues,â > he said. > Johnson did not comment on when the meters will be online and operational. > âWe still have some work we need to do.â > > > > > **************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for > FanHouse Fantasy Football today. > (http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020) > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
