EAST BRUNSWICK — The township's parking utility is carrying a nearly $21.8 million debt load and required a $1.36 million subsidy from the general budget in 2026, as post-pandemic commuter patterns continue to depress revenue at the municipal parking deck, according to budget documents and Mayor Brad Cohen.
The 2026 municipal budget shows the parking utility generating $2.3 million in miscellaneous revenues — up from $1.83 million in 2025 — but still falling well short of covering its $3.66 million in total appropriations. The utility carries an outstanding debt balance of $21,777,962, including $19.7 million in principal and $2.06 million in interest. It employs five people, down from six in 2025.
Debt service alone accounts for $2.32 million of the utility's annual expenditures.
Cohen acknowledged the utility's ongoing struggles in recent remarks, attributing them directly to remote and hybrid work trends that took hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The parking utility, that's a bear for everybody, because nobody is using parking decks at the rate that it was used prior to COVID," Cohen said. "It's come back some, but it's not remotely close to what it was prior to COVID, and until people start forcing folks to go back to work full time five days a week, we will probably not have the deck at the capacity that was prior to COVID."
To offset lost commuter revenue, the township has begun leasing space to commercial vehicle operators at its East Brunswick Transportation Center, a multi-level facility located near Route 18 and the New Jersey Turnpike. A promotional video released by the township this week advertises 200 to 300 available parking spaces across up to seven levels, with features including vehicle protection from the elements, designated zones for commercial vehicles, and capacity scalable based on demand. Interested businesses are directed to call (732) 390-6836.
"We've rented out space to car lots that want use of a facility which has an indoor and protects cars from the elements, and we're trying to be as creative as possible in utilizing the deck for other things," Cohen said.
The mayor also identified NJ Transit's operations along the Route 18 corridor as a contributing factor to the deck's underperformance, saying commuters are parking in surrounding lots rather than using municipal facilities.
"It will also work if we could force New Jersey Transit to stop stopping on the Route 18 corridor, which contributes to traffic and people park all over the place in parking lots which we really don't want them using," Cohen said. "And if we could find a way of stopping that and forcing those people into the lots, and maybe working on a long-term solution with New Jersey Transit to use our lots, it would solve a traffic issue, and it would help us with our decks, but they're not there yet."
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