Enforcement, Permits and Kiosks Highlight Discussion About Main Street Parking Issues In Moorestown

Moorestown, NJ -- When Moorestown resident Richard Hinchman spoke about the parking issues on Main Street during the Nov. 14 council meeting, Moorestown Township Manager Scott Carew said it made him see another side of the issue.

It was at that meeting that council decided it needed to take more time to look at a proposed ordinance that banned overnight parking on Main Street and certain other streets.

At that time, Hinchman said he didn’t want to come home late at night from a concert and have to park in a dark alley. He also asked why residents haven’t been consulted on the issue.

“That made me think about it in a different way,” Carew said during the Nov. 28 meeting at town hall.
Carew said the township recognizes the proposal was incomplete, and won’t be introduced until after the new council is sworn in at the beginning of next year.

“We agree on the need to have parking turnover on Main Street,” Carew said of the township’s discussions with the police department and the Moorestown Business Association.

He said they also agreed on the need to have the street cleared for public works activity and events on Main Street.

Suggestions for this include parking permits. It would allow people who were approved to park on Main Street, and also provide the township with a way to notify anyone who is parked there if they need to move their car.

Carew also referenced the proposed two-hour parking limit Deputy Mayor Victoria Napolitano referenced at the Nov. 14 meeting.

“There had been talk of a two-hour limit, but that doesn’t make sense in all areas,” Carew said, noting that many businesses have customers who pop in and out for a quick bite to eat or some other reason. “Maybe in some areas, 15 minutes would work better.”

Councilwoman Stacey Jordan suggested an annual review in that case, to see which businesses were still in which spots and if the time limit was appropriate.

Enforcement is also an issue that needs to be dealt with.

“The police department needs the ability to not only write tickets, but tow,” said Carew, pointing out police have no ability to tow cars at this point. “Without the ability to enforce, there’s no point.”

Mayor Phil Garwood reiterated his support for replacing parking meters with kiosks on Main Street.
In the kiosk system, each parking space is numbered and police use a handheld device to hand out tickets based on a color coded system.

Garwood and other officials have seen a demonstration given by Parkeon, and he suggested the Moorestown Business Association should see it.

Napolitano agreed, adding that the Main Street Business Merchants should also see it, and that they might be able to have that demonstration in town hall at some point in the near future.

Patch file photo