One of my fathers favorite rules was ” Keep It Simple Stupid”. Great advice for a young man and even better advice for politicians and elected officials. Once again the Village officials are over thinking a really simple problem to motorcycle parking.
A little history, for years motorcycles parked in the Brookhaven parking lot for free which helped easy the summer parking problems in the Port Jeff. No complex legal deals just an informal aggreement between PJ Village officials and Brookhaven officials. Motorcycles parked in Brookhaven parking lot which freed up parking in the village- simple solution and it worked.
Motorcycles parked on Main Street in Port Jeff during the Summer
Fast forward a few years when metered parking was implemented in the village. Talk about over thinking and over reacting to a seasonal parking problem! Besides bringing a big city solution to a small village with all the pain it brought to the merchants and tickets to people who don’t understand the system, the village decided to go after motorcycles in Port Jeff. The status Que changed when the Village asked Brookhaven to enforce the resident rules for motorcycles in the lot and the village went after motorcycles parking on main Street. They probably thought the bikers would go away but they didn’t. For a couple of years code enforcement was encouraged to require motorcycles to park parallel to the curb instead of the safer and legal rear tire to the curb. The Village probably thought the bikers would go away but they didn’t!
Now the Port Jeff has a new plan for motorcycle parking. Port Jeff wants get the bikers back in the Brookhaven parking Lot. Great idea- there is plenty of room, there are benches a even picnic tables and it would easy the parking problem in PJ. But once again, it isn’t a simple plan. The new plan involves the BID (PJ Business Improvent District) paying Brookhaven’s individual parking fees for the bikers (currently $10 for non residents). This is not a simple or long term solution. Problems include bookeeping, payment and limited resources of the BID . According to Newday the BID has set aside $3000 for parking and has reserved the right to cancel on short notice. Just like metered parking this doesn’t sound good to me!
Plenty of Motorcycle Parking in Brookhaven Lot
Want a simple solution. I have the answer. Sure it cost money but their is no down side to my solution. The Village wants to easy the parking problem and get motorcycles off of Main St and back int the Brook haven parking lot then they are going to have to put their money where there mouth is. All the village has to do is negotiate a seasonal parking deal with Brookhaven for motorcycles to park in the Brookhaven lot. Simple solution and easy to do and implement. Port Jeff would solve two problems and all parties involved would be happy. If the Village needs a negotiator give me a call!
“If The Village of Port Jeff wants to ease the seasonal parking problem in the village they should but their money where their mouth is and negotiate seasonal parking for motorcycles in the Brookhaven lot. A simple solution and a win win for everybody involved”
Great article..My Dad use to say. “If you have to over think it than its stupid” Once again another solution to a non-problem.Jeez PJ Village stop trying to fix things.
So if it is a parking problem, the simple solution would be to encourage motorcycles, which take up far less space per vehicle, and get rid of the SUVs. Motorcycle riders tend to have high levels of disposable income (hence the $30,000 pieces of chrome many ride for a few thousand miles per year). Motorcycles really take up very few parking spaces, even at peak times. Would.the village trade four to five affluent motorcycle enthusiasts (and their passengers) who want to.shop, eat, and spend, in exchange for every one SUV or other four-wheeled vehicle, many of which have oneperson inside? I fail to see how motorcycles have been brought into the discussion at all, much less become so thoroughly entwined in the matter other than through the prejudice and discrimination of certain BID members. Thank you for your article, and we hundreds and thousands of bikers look forward to following the issue. (BTW, $3000 would pay for 300 bikes… that’s a good holiday weekend worth of bike traffic)