UPDATED: Moorestown Council Discusses Main Street Parking Options

Moorestown has received some negative feedback from the public over paid parking along Second Street, Township Manager Scott Carew said during the council meeting on March 9.

“There are a lot of concerns,” he told council.

Moorestown has considered the installation of kiosks along Main Street as part of a two-phase plan to replace parking meters in the Township.

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.

Carew said 80 parking meters could be replaced by between 6 and 10 kiosks.

The second phase would be replacement of parking meters in the Second Street parking lot, which may use the same system under consideration for Main Street.

But residents have voiced opposition to the plan for Second Street.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea right now,” Jordan said. “Maybe we could have businesses pay for tiered parking.”

When it comes to Main Street, Councilwoman Stacey Jordan pointed out that businesses like metered parking, as it discourages people from parking in the same spot for eight or nine hours.

One possibility would be to allow cars to park on Main Street overnight, as long as they are gone by 9 a.m. the following day. She also said they shouldn’t look at parking in Moorestown as a way to generate money for the Township.

“There are plenty of low-cost options,” Councilman Greg Newcomer said, adding that some business owners have asked if meters are needed at all.

“We’re trying to make the downtown a destination,” Deputy Mayor Phil Garwood said. “Maybe free parking is one way to do that.”

Mayor Victoria Napolitano said she’s in favor of tiered parking, but that downtown business owners should be consulted before any changes are made.

Councilman Manny Delgado also raised the issue of appearance of the rear entrances to Main Street businesses.

“Some people enter through the rear entrances. It’s like a second front door,” Delgado said. “We need to get rid of the trash back there.”

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