Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Next up: paid parking for city residents?

Tonight's city council conference session (5:00 pm, second floor of City Hall) includes a presentation on fee structures. One of the items listed is "Parking Enforcement."

Don't be surprised if the powers that be propose a fee structure for residents in the permit only parking areas of Trenton.

Permit parking is usually granted when there is a direct conflict between residents and visitors for the limited on street parking. Areas around the hospitals, ball park, arena, train station and downtown have had permit parking ordinances enacted so that residents have first dibs on available parking spots.

The system was designed so that permits and visitor passes would be reissued every couple of years to aid enforcement efforts. As is typical in Trenton, the system was let go to the point where enforcement is nearly impossible in some areas due to the large amount of resident turnover, counterfeit passes, etc.

After years of "we're working on it" representatives of Trenton's Traffic and Engineering Division of Public Works have floated the idea of annual parking permits being issued for a "nominal fee."

If this is proposed and passed, it will be another instance of penalizing the tax paying citizens for the city's mismanagement.

Let's hope any such trial balloons are shot down immediately.

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