Parking has always been a point of contention in Hoboken. Finite parking spaces = a lot of opinions and a lot of stress. And let’s be honest, it can sometimes feel like playing Tetris {but way less fun, and definitely more expensive}. But ever since changes to parking policies were made last year and then retracted, including significant increases to meter rates, parking has become a hot, controversial topic more than ever.
Now, the City of Hoboken is getting ready to roll out a new set of initiatives to improve the overall parking experience for both residents and guests of the Mile Square. And if your head is still spinning from the last series of parking changes — you know, dynamic pricing and HOP Bus free admission — we’re breaking everything down. Here’s what you need to know about parking in Hoboken.
What Happened to 2019’s Parking initiatives?
Well, they didn’t really work and City Hall admitted that — kind of. Or at least, is recognizing that those initial changes weren’t as effective as they were intended to be.
In a press release statement, Mayor Bhalla said, “One of my priorities as Mayor has been to help enhance economic development within our business districts. To this end, we attempted to use higher meter rates last year to help generate more parking turnover to free up curbside parking spaces in our business districts. While we learned that the change in curbside pricing finally helped to free up on-street parking spaces for customers, as well as reducing double parking, I recognize that the increase in pricing last year was too much, and too soon.”
As you may recall, what is referred to is the 2019 introduction of dynamic pricing, an initiative that was modeled after rates in high-traffic areas like Atlantic City, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and more. The dynamic pricing initiative’s goal was to have one-to-two parking spaces available on each block within designated business districts. To accomplish this, parking rates were raised to between $0.50 and $0.90 for every 15 minutes.
Now, in 2020, local officials seem to agree the raise in metered pricing was too much too soon, and according to some residents, at all.
But it still seems to be the plan of action, for better or for worse. “This modified compromise of $2.00 per hour is proposed in partnership with the City Council Parking and Transportation subcommittee and will help improve on-street parking availability and convenience, and attract more customers to our local businesses.”
It remains to be seen if that will actually be the case, but at least that’s what they’re telling us.
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So, What ARE the 2020 Parking Initiative Changes?
The goal of 2020’s new parking initiatives is, according to City Hall, to “improve the availability of on-street parking spots and ultimately, improve the convenience for all who drive a vehicle in the Mile Square,” but if we’re being honest, it’s a hotly debated topic, that’s for sure — with much discussion and debate on both sides, which we’ll leave to you to decide your stance. Either way, here’s a break down of the changes:
Increased Prices of Residential Parking Passes
As Hoboken Girl reported earlier this year, one of the first parking initiatives rolling out is the raising of residential parking pass prices. Residential rates will increase from $15 a year to $52 a year for the first car, from $30 to $104 a year for the second, and increase to $208 a year for the third car.
Meter Price Changes + Employee Parking Discounts
In cooperation with the City of Hoboken, the Hoboken Parking Utility {HPU} is working on an ordinance that will bring meter prices to $2 per hour in the city’s business districts. This ordinance is only on first and second readings as of now, so it’s not fully passed. The ordinance also coincides with a discounted employee parking program, which would give employees of Hoboken-based businesses eligibility to receive a 69% discount of $5 for 12 hours in Garages B, D, and Midtown.
Virtual Visitor Permits {VVPs}
The soft launch of Hoboken’s new Virtual Visitor Permits will begin February 10th. These VVPs will allow residents and guests to purchase and activate visitor permits through mobile devices, without having to physically visit the HPU.
VVPs will now cost $4 for four hours, $5 for eight, and $6 for 24 hours. Registering for a text message notification will allow residents or guests to get an alert to their phone 30 minutes prior to their VVP expiring.
For more information on VVPs, pricing, and instructional videos, visit here.
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In-Street Vehicle Detector Sensors
Hoboken will also be launching a six-month pilot parking sensor program on Washington Street. The program uses in-street vehicle detector sensors to alert drivers to parking availability on Washington Street through the ParkMobile app.
Garages
Garages B, D, G, and Midtown throughout Hoboken will receive upgrades to parking access and revenue control systems — known as PARC systems. The new PARC systems will use license plate recognition cameras to streamline the entry and exit process in garages. According to officials, in addition to streamlining the entry and exit process, the hope about the system is that they will also eliminate the need for transponders.
Monthly customers of these garages will also be able to switch their payments to online payments. Additionally, visitors will also be able to reserve parking spaces in advance using the online system before leaving home.
On-Street Merchant Validations
Hoboken Parking Utility will partner with ParkMobile to introduce an on-street merchant validation program. As part of the program, merchants can purchase promo codes from HPU and use these codes to validate parking meter fees for customers.
And there you have it — a full break down, for better or worse. Good luck parking, Hoboken!
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