Starting Monday, July 11, Teaneck replaced meters with the ParkMobile app—free to download for Apple and Android devices—to charge for parking in the four parking lots at Phelps Park: Beverly Road-River Road and both east and west State Street municipal parking lots.
All four lots charge $1 per hour (an upcharge from the past $0.25 per half hour) for up to three hours, excluding the Phelps Park lot that allows up to two hours for parking. For the State Street lots, paid hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a,m.-6 p.m., while Beverly and Phelps charge all day, Monday through Sunday. The State Street lots do not charge on Saturday and Sunday or holidays. Those with valid and current Teaneck parking decals are not subject to the time restrictions imposed at the Beverly Road and State Street parking lots.
The ParkMobile app system is replacing outdated, ineffective meters that were in these four lots, Deputy Mayor Mark “Mendy” Schwartz (who is also The Jewish Link’s co-publisher) said.
This plan is expected to be very effective. There are still some kinks in the app to work through, however, like one where it charges the driver a $1.30 flat fee, and then another dollar for each additional hour parked. “ParkMobile is in the process of correcting this error,” Deputy Manager Tom Rowe reassured the Jewish Link.
The lots have signage explaining how to pay through the ParkMobile app, or people can call the toll-free number posted for more information. After signing up on the ParkMobile website, https://tinyurl.com/paytopark, or in the app, drivers can enter the zone number posted on signs at the lot, set the amount of hours and pay accordingly through the app.
There is also a plan to upgrade parking by redoing the lots that exist and adding new spots wherever necessary. “We recently added 25 spots to the Glatt Express lot and are redoing the Court Street lot and street parking—by the splash pad—to add 20 more spots. We have over 65 more additional spots in the plans as well, so supply will be increased,” Schwartz explained. The point is to add a new payment system to make parking a quicker and easier affair in hopes of helping local drivers and encouraging shopping in the area.
While this new platform is expected to bring in around $65,000 towards the township’s general fund, the goal is not revenue, rather it is to make paying for parking easier and ensure that people don’t take advantage of the lots by staying for hours, or even days, at a time. “I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Englewood brings in $400,000 annually from parking revenue, but this is not our objective at this time,” Schwartz clarified. This new platform is to promote turnover, making it much easier to find spots for local drivers.
Etta Feuer is a rising sophomore at Hunter College and a Jewish Link summer intern.
