Ever since the township of Weehawken instituted a parking program 10 years ago to try to combat against commuters leaving their cars in town and heading into New York, as well as to secure adequate parking for residents, there have been constant discussions over how to improve the program.
“For the last year or so, we’ve worked hard on trying to make improvements to our parking problems,” Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner said last week. “The council and I have met with various individuals to receive input from the people, how they think we can best solve the problem. I’ve been reviewing plans from neighboring towns and how they’ve been handling it. We’ve interviewed parking consultant companies that specialize in programs for resident parking. It’s been a gigantic task.”
With that, Turner and the Township Council unveiled a plan at last week’s regularly scheduled council meeting that should better address the parking problem in the town.
The council officially adopted the new program that will begin May 1 and should be fully operational by Oct. 1. The council will open up some parking spaces overnight that were previously unavailable to residents, and will issue new parking stickers to identify residents’ cars.
Phase I: Spaces
“The first step was to create new parking spaces, if possible,” Turner said last week. “It’s not easy, when there isn’t any open land to build a parking structure, not to mention, it’s very costly.”
The council has secured a formula that will create 200 additional spaces, at least through the overnight period, when residents find it the most difficult to locate sufficient parking.
“We’ve opened up the schoolyards at each of our schools [Webster, Roosevelt and Wilson] from 9 p.m. until 6:30 a.m.,” Turner said. “They have to be out in the morning, because of school. This has given us an additional 60 parking spaces. We started this earlier in the year, because of the snow, and it has remarkably worked very well. I’m pleased that we haven’t had a single problem with residents removing their cars in time for school in the morning.”
Added Turner, “The Board of Education endorsed this policy, provided that the lots are being used by Weehawken residents.”
Turner also announced that the township has entered into a working agreement with the Tower Plaza Mall Associates and Pathmark to use 108 parking spaces in the shopping center’s lot from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, also dedicated to Weehawken residents.
Turner also said that the township is planning to open up the 25 parking spaces at Town Hall at night and to provide better lighting there.
“This is all designed for the people who go out at night and come home and can’t find a spot to park their cars,” Turner said. “With the schoolyards, Pathmark and Town Hall, we’ve created 200 additional spots. That’s a good start.”
Turner said that the township is also preparing to provide better lighting and possibly the installation of security cameras along Hackensack Plank Road and Pershing Road, so that residents can feel more secure in leaving their cars parked at those locations overnight as well.
“It will make things safer for the residents and for the vehicles as well,” Turner said.
Phase II: Stickers
The second phase of the new program involves the resident parking sticker program. Beginning May 1, all residents will be required to register their vehicles at various locations throughout the town in order to receive a new parking sticker.
Turner said that the need to get new parking stickers arose recently, when it was determined that many former residents were still utilizing the old stickers, even though they no longer lived in the town.
“Over 10 years, there have been a lot of people who have come and gone,” Turner said. “We started the plan 10 years ago because of our constant battles with commuters and now, we’re seeing Weehawken parking stickers all over the state. Since we instituted the program, we’ve never asked residents to renew registration once. We have to now.”
Residents will be asked to renew their parking permit registrations every two years, beginning May 1. As of Oct. 1, summonses will be issued to those who do not have the new stickers on display.
After debating the issue, Turner has decided not to charge residents for the parking permit sticker. Some neighboring municipalities have charged anywhere from $5 to $50 for the parking sticker.
“We feel that we’re providing this as a service to the community,” Turner said. “The stickers will look different and be of a different color. But residents have to register their vehicles.”
Turner said that the township has hired a computer firm that will fully automate the registration process. The entire registration form will be computerized.
Some areas of the town will see adjustment in the parking hours, like Boulevard East, from the Hess station to 51st Street.
“We’ve received complaints that people are parking their cars at night on the Boulevard and hopping on a commuter van into Manhattan for the night,” Turner said. “So we’ve adjusted the hours, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. during the week and 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. during weekends, to make sure people are not leaving their cars here.”
Turner said that the township will hire two more parking enforcement officers as well, giving the town a total of five officers manning the parking areas.
Turner also said that the township will recognize the parking stickers of neighboring towns, like Union City and West New York, because the towns overlap in some areas.
“We’ve had all kinds of different suggestions how to handle the problems,” Turner said. “We think we have come up with a right mix that provides more resident parking and stricter regulations. We think the new program will have an impact.”
Turner said that fliers will be mailed out shortly, informing residents of the new parking registration requirements and times for registration as well.