The new parking lot on Paterson Plank Road in the north end has opened, and many local residents see it as nearly an overnight success.
Customers going into the Plank Board Inn and El Forno on Friday – two days after the unofficial opening of the lot – said they did not know how people did without it previously.
“There must have been as many as 40 cars in there an hour after it opened,” one resident said.
Although lights have not yet been installed, the facility was activated this week in order to provide Huber Street School’s teachers, staff and parents with parking for opening day – allowing the school to begin expansion into its existing parking lot. “We promised to have the lot open by the time school started,” Mayor Dennis Elwell said. “That’s what we’ve done.” Two weeks ago, Elwell said construction of a parking lot at the site of the former Franklin-Smith building had moved ahead as planned. The building has been demolished, the land leveled, and paving begun.
Elwell said as envisioned, the parking lot will have about 94 parking spaces. Huber Street School, which will expand into its exiting parking lot, may use as many as 46 of these spaces. Elwell said the rest will consist of public parking, some of which will be short-term, some long-term to provide parking for local businesses as well as commuters.
The total cost of the purchase and the construction is expected to reach about $1 million, but will enhance the neighborhood’s value, Elwell said.
“Parking has always been a problem in this part of town,” the mayor said. “This should help alleviate that situation.” But along with this, the mayor noted, will come stricter enforcement of parking regulations.
“In the past, the police have been lenient about parking in this part of the town, because of the limited parking,” Elwell said. “Now, the department will be enforcing the law. This means people can’t park illegally to run into the deli for a bagel. They will have to park the car and cross the street.”
Plans call for extensive landscaping throughout the parking lot in an effort to make the site more attractive. A new fence will be installed to separate it from the residential properties that border the lot on one side. A double-sized bus shelter will also be installed right in front of the lot. This would accommodate the New York City-bound bus that travels to that part of the town.
Elwell said the town is currently looking into a unique means of charging for the parking spaces in an attempt to avoid the $10,000 cost for installing new parking meters. Elwell said a Swedish device used in various areas in the United States may provide patrons of the lot with a high tech billing system.
The device, if used, would be situated at the entrance of the lot. People would pull it, purchase time – via cash or credit card – then put the stub on their dashboard.
“The stub would have the time on it for the parking enforcement,” Elwell said. “People can pay for short time or long-term parking.”
The system could also allow people to deposit up to $20 in cash and receive change. Another possible feature could allow the device to assign particular parking spots.
“We could number each spot and that’s where the person would go,” Elwell said. “If there is no more room in the lot, the machine wouldn’t take that person’s money.”
People in the area can expect to use the lot for free for about 30 days, after which a system will be installed, Elwell said. “We’re trying to look over what we will need there,” he said. “Since school has just started, we’ll need time to see how many spaces they will need. After that we can adjust the rest of the spaces to long-term and short-term parking.”
School groundbreaking imminent
Saying that the plans for the school expansion are 90 percent complete, Board of Education member Anthony Rinaldi said at the Sept. 7 school board meeting that the district would bypass the lengthy state approval process by using a combination of the local building inspector and the expert advice of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission. Rinaldi said a construction manager for the project has begun to work with the architect, gearing up for the eventual groundbreaking. School officials were under pressure to begin the work in September in order to have the schools ready for opening day September 2001. If everything goes well, work could begin by the end of the month. Bid specifications are currently being worked on.
In a later interview, Mayor Dennis Elwell said the Construction Code Official has the state-required qualifications to look over the project. The HMDC – a state planning and development agency – will provide the town with whatever technical assistance is needed to get the project started on time.