In Montclair, New Jersey, parking meter spaces can be rented by the day, reports northjersey.com. It’s not a new policy, but an old one that’s been brought into the open in an interesting way. Franco Porporino, general manager of Fresco, pays for the use of two metered parking spots in front of his restaurant on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and uses them to provide valet parking for his customers.
Porporino is taking advantage of a parking policy that allows movie making crews, street fair organizers and other entities to rent the metered spaces by day for $20. Residents get a 50 percent discount on that rate, so Montclair locals could technically buy use of a space for the entire day on any day they want for only $10. But this is not a perk they’re really aware of.
“If this is the policy, then the public should know it, and I don’t think the public knows it,” said David Jones. “Then there is the deeper question of if this is a good policy when applied in this manner. People have to make their own judgments about that.”
It may be that Montclair city leaders will be facing an open can of worms with this policy. Its original intent was to provide for activities that had limited duration, but the valet service at Fresco is going on every week, year round.
“I honestly don’t know whether he’s exploiting a loophole or not. We’re aware of it, and we’ve laid off of it while the parking study was underway. Now that it’s coming to a conclusion, we’ll have a meeting and we’ll talk about this, not just for Fresco, but for all downtown restaurants,” at-Large Township Councilmember Rich McMahon clarified.
As a civilian, I wouldn’t pass up a chance to buy a parking spot for the day and use it however I want. I can’t see the benefit for my city financially, but I could use a guaranteed space for several excursions I’ve been planning. I’m going to have to see if this is an option where I live.
Read the article here.
