Hoboken Pushes Back On New Parking Rules, Officials Ponder Change

HOBOKEN, NJ — Earlier this month, city officials kicked off a series of initiatives aimed at "improving the overall parking experience in Hoboken."

It didn’t go over quite as they planned, according to Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

On Tuesday, Bhalla said that officials are planning to introduce immediate legislation that will tweak the city’s new parking regulations after hearing a swell of complaints from residents. The city’s new “dynamic pricing policy” that hiked parking meter rates will be one of several ideas that will go back to the drawing board.

• See related article: Here's What Hoboken Is Doing To Ease Parking Woes In City

“We all know parking in Hoboken can be challenging,” the mayor stated in an email. “The modified meter rates were intended to increase parking turnover throughout our city, but especially in commercial areas. Since this started, I’ve heard from many residents, business owners and visitors alike about the financial hardship this has caused. As mayor, I take these concerns very seriously. I believe it’s critical to consider feedback, both good and bad, as we enact public policy.”

Bhalla said that the new parking rules were introduced with “the best intentions.” But it became clear that further consideration is required, he added.

“Yesterday, I met with Councilman Michael Russo, who chairs the City Council subcommittee on parking and transportation,” Bhalla said Tuesday. “He also had expressed the same concerns as I had and reiterated to me the feedback from our community.”

According to the mayor, he and Russo have agreed to support immediate legislation addressing these concerns, including:

• A policy allowing any Hoboken resident with a residential parking permit to park for up to four hours in a metered location for free, without paying at the meter
• Returning metered parking rates back to $1 per hour

Bhalla said that given the “substantial feedback” from residents, he “strongly urges” the City Council to adopt the new legislation.

On Tuesday, Hoboken Council Vice President Ruben Ramos and 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco, who were among four council members who voted against the original ordinance, released a joint statement about the potential rollback of the new rules:

"We are happy the mayor now sees what the numerous residents who opposed this plan and the members of the council who voted no saw from the beginning - that raising parking rates up to 260% with no improvements to the overall system and no new parking availability is outrageous. We should be encouraging people to visit, shop and dine in our city and enjoy all it has to offer as opposed to creating even more obstacles for businesses to succeed, which the Bhalla parking rate hikes would have done. Now that Mayor Bhalla has changed course, we are hopeful that the administration will be open to working with the City Council on holistic solutions to improve parking in Hoboken like adding more garage spaces, using new technology to direct more cars to underutilized parking areas and providing more transportation alternatives.”

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