While the imminent introduction of paid parking on the blocks of Warren Street currently without parking meters is a cause for concern among many, another change in Hudson parking policy has riled a different group of people.
In May, the Common Council passed a resolution to phase out parking permits for the South Front Street Municipal Parking Lot, the lot across the street from the train station used by people commuting by train to New York City and elsewhere. The City has been issuing long-term parking permits for this lot since about 2011. For an annual fee, which most recently was $1,000, permit holders could park in the lot whenever they wanted and for as long as they wanted without having to pay any additional fees. There were spaces in the parking lot designated for permit holders.
There were also problems with non-permit holders parking in the reserved spots and instances of permit holders altering the expiration date on their permits to avoid paying the renewal fee. Another thing that persuaded the Common Council to do away with the permits was loss of revenue. The $1,000 annual permit fee worked out to a mere $2.74 a day. Given all those issues, it was decided the simplest thing would be to eliminate parking permits for that lot altogether.
But the decision has not been without controversy. At Monday's informal Common Council meeting, Sarton Weintaub, attending the meeting virtually, protested the elimination of parking permits. He maintained that what had been costing him $1,000 a year would now cost him more than $3,000, and he complained that the people affected by the decision had been denied a voice. (Many of the people using the lot are not Hudson residents.) He told the Council there were a hundred people organizing to protest their decision. He also predicted that Hudson would ultimately lose revenue from commuter parking because people would be driving to Poughkeepsie to catch the train there instead of coming to Hudson. He said of the parking permits, "It was a service that was reasonably priced, and now you're taking it away."
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I undertand the fustration of the permit holders. But let's be real, many of these people are NYC residents who are weekenders and have second homes outside of Hudson and are using the lot to "garage" their upstate cars instead of keeping them in the city. I get it, I'd do the same thing. Monthly parking in the city can be around $600 a month or more. Plus who wants to deal with the drive?
ReplyDeleteIf these were budget minded commuters they'd already be going to Poughkeepsie since a monthly Metro North pass is $400, versus $1,000 a month on Amtrak from Hudson. They're not entitled to cheap car storage and there's nothing much they can do about it. The Council would be wise to call their bluff, their other options are still worse.
It makes no sense to suggest people who use a car in the city would park it in Hudson. I only use the car in the country and commute by train. The problem obviously was created by the City of Hudson when it started selling more permits than there were reserved spaces. But now they have compounded the problem by having unused reserved spaces and not enough numbered spaces. You can't use the ticket kiosk if you don't have a numbered space, and they haven't repaired the second kiosk, so it's a gamble every time you park whether or not the kiosk will be working. And the parking app they have engaged is ludicrous. This is a long term parking lot, but the app only allows hourly parking for up to one day. Yes, you can extend it remotely, but that means doing it every morning. The Parking Bureau doesn't have a grasp of the problem or the technology they ought to be engaging, and they will lose more money as a result.
ReplyDeleteThere is, essentially, no such thing as a Parking Bureau at City Hall, and that is the crux of all parking related problems past, present and future. The Parking Bureau, as it is, consists of one person at a computer all day processing paid tickets and occasionally taking payments in person at the counter. City Clerk Tracy Delaney was roped into help with meter issues years ago but she is not working for the Parking Bureau, she is only helping out. And the city hopes to install kiosks all over town . What a complete joke and embarrassing failure full of missteps it will be with no one taking responsibility. You watch.
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