Martha Caballero "feeding" the meters in Port Jefferson
The cherry trees are blossoming in Chandler Square and metered parking returned to Port Jefferson on April 15th. We congratulate the mayor for extending no metered parking during the winter till April15th but metered parking is no friend to the merchants and employees who are trying to make a living in Port Jefferson. For employees a working 40 hours, metered parking is $20 less in their pocket every week. Village merchants who make money when customers spend time in their store,will again experience the customer who has to run because he is afraid of getting a ticket. The thousands of customers who got parking tickets in the last couple of years will think twice before returning to Port Jeff. One can only image how many people will deceided to have dinner somewhere else rather than risk getting ticket in Port Jefferson. Many Port Jeff’s restaurants use to count on birthday parties, family celebrations and private parties. But if you think about it,who would invite friends and family to Port Jeff for a celebration and risk their guests getting parking tickets. There are plenty of other places to go and people tend to vote with their feet.
Metered parking was sold to Port Jefferson as a way to solve a difficult seasonal parking situation. Unfortunately metered parking really doesn’t help parking in Port Jeff during the busy summer months. What metered parking really has done is make customers think twice about coming to eat, shop and play in Port Jeff. The system itself is not user friendly and the promised community benefits have never materialized. It has become a good example of why Port Jeff government should not be in the parking business. If residents of Port Jefferson ever decide to take a look at the costs and benefits of metered parking they will find out their parking committee has created a white elephant which is trampling the local business community. Now the parking committee wants to raise the hourly parking rate. Instead of taking $20 out of an employees pay check they want $30! Times are tough everywhere but metered parking just sends potential customers to neighboring towns and villages. Port Jeff has a lot to love but metered parking is not on my list!
We were in PJ the other night and had to go through the paying routine…park, get the space number,find a machine, wait until the machine is free as there are people in front of you, have change ready and eventually get the ticket. And it was raining. So much fun to be wet before you head into a nice restaurant. Guess that is it for us for the remainder of the paying season. This process has done little but to alienate those that work in the village and frustrate those that visit here. My quarters, dimes and nickels will go elsewhere. Have a nice summer PJ – see you when the parking is free again.
I get it A. B. and truly understand your frustration, I just wish the self righteous parking committee would get it. It makes no sense for people to stand out in the rain, sun, cold, or snow and feed quarters to a parking machine. After dark you need a flash light just to see see the instructions. It is absurd to ask people who are about to patronize local restaurants and stores to pay for parking and truly inconvenience them with a second rate meter system which requires you provide parking space numbers, doesn’t take cash ( quarters only) and requires people to wait and wait when they use their credit card while it is processing. If its raining , dark or cold you are just plain screwed. My Am ex Card never works. Even if the parking machine worked like a modern cash machine it is just absurd to ask people to pay for parking when all the local communities don’t have metered parking. The true cost of parking is not the quarters that go into the stupid machines but the loss of business, the tickets, the frustation of the people using the machine and lets not forget those hundreds of thousands of dollars in the very real costs of ,managing, maintaing and enforcing metered parking!
Once again Port Jeff has proved that if you work or own a store in PJ you are treated like a second class citizen.They need to get a season pass for the hard working people of PJ(who live outside of the village) These people keep this town fed,clothed and quench our thirsts.Give them a break..it makes me sick when I see a 19 year old Code Enforcer office driving around in a gas hogging Grand Cherokee regardless of how good of a deal they got on them.”Al Gore” would be sick to his stomach..Once again making a bill the parking fees might pay back.