What Were They Thinking?

“Did you know they are now charging for parking in Main Street Freehold?”, my friend said in a high-pitched voice, a recognizable attribute when expressing emotion. “You have to write about it in the Patch!” At first, I declined but then I realized that I was probably just as shocked and angry as she was. What makes Main Street a haven for so many people are the free concerts, the wide variety of restaurants and accessibility to patrons from surrounding townships. There are parades and theater, movies and celebrations of Fall. There is something for everybody. Throngs of seniors' frequent music performances, shop at the courthouse farmers market, attend art shows at the Freehold Gallery creating a lifestyle that makes extensive free time enjoyable. To them, Freehold is or WAS, welcoming, entertaining, and accessible. It is the senior population and the modestly priced eateries that will suffer from app parking. The spots impacted are the ones closest to the “action” so to speak. The county spots will be available after business hours, but they are much too far for seniors to walk and not available when they are needed the most. At this time, when a fixed income is not meeting rising inflation, a four-hour parking fee can be the difference between a night out enjoying Freehold, Main Street or one at the Freehold Mall. A senior can’t meet a friend for a quick lunch at Café 360 without tagging on those few dollars it costs to park. I can also tell you that many of those seniors are baffled as to how the app works. It took me twenty minutes to help my friend install the app and park her car.

And so, I ask – “What were they thinking?” Is this meter parking a means to increase revenue? If so, where is the money going? Is the township trying to give itself a facelift? With the influx of high-end restaurants, and a brewery, the parking meters mean nothing to those who will frequent…. And the streets won’t be trafficked with as many senior citizens with folding chairs who spend little or no money. Are they trying to change the look of the Street by eliminating older businesses. Will the liquor store maintain its customer base when the clientele must already be in the vicinity or add a parking fee to the cost of that six pack of beer? I now must pay for parking to return my library book.

The charm of Main Street Freehold was its love for the people who frequented. You did not need a lot of money to enjoy an evening there. It was a melting pot of people, lifestyles, and preferences. There was something to be enjoyed by all. By implementing app parking, it becomes just another soulless place.