Parking Victory_Retrospect_2024Feb16

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The Retrospect, Friday, February 16, 2024 , Page 5
Haddonfield Gives in to Demand for Free Parking
by Joan Buehler
Never doubt the power of
a single person to change the
minds of policymakers. If a person
wants it badly enough, and
is willing to put in the work,
as David Hunter did when he
conducted his one-man crusade
against Haddonfield’s new
parking policy, change can happen.
The Haddonfield Today publisher
appeared at Monday’s
commissioner work caucus —
as he has almost every month
since the passage of a September
ordinance removing the
beloved “free Saturdays” and
the 12 free minutes for people
popping in on an errand — to
again plead his case.
His effort finally paid off as
the commission broadly agreed
to reverse policy and restore the
free period at every paid parking
spot in town, citing support
from the downtown business
owners for such a move. Discussing
a new policy for shortterm
parking was actually on
the work caucus agenda prior
to Hunter standing up during
public-comment session.
Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich
said she had wanted to reopen
the issue because her monitoring
of social media and soliciting
feedback from many retailers
revealed the need for the commissioners
to reverse their previous
stance on short-term free
parking but not on no-pay-Saturdays.
“And we actually said
in public we would revisit the
issue four to five months in,
during the first quarter of 2024,”
she explained.
She confirmed the next day
that parking had been a topic
at every Partnership for Haddonfield
meeting since the
ordinance’s passage. “What the
Partnership (for Haddonfield)
is saying, is their businesses are
hurting because there are no
parking spaces anywhere, so
the fear that no one would come
to Haddonfield on Saturdays
because they now have to pay
to park, is completely untrue,”
she said. “What we have them
saying is, their customers are
asking that someone inside the
store bring their order out to
them, because there’s nowhere
to park. It’s also an issue for
parents who are dropping their
kids off to dance or tumbling, or
picking them up,” she added.
September’s adoption of the
new parking rules, which not
only abolished free Saturdays
but extended the paid time by
two hours to 8 p.m., six days a
week, brought out the public to
the commission’s first October
meeting. But over the months,
the voices thinned out until
just Hunter was left to continue
pressuring the commissioners.
He used his publication as a
lobbying vehicle, gathering data
and collecting opinions from
over 200 residents and business
owners through surveys, and
publishing the results.
A sampling of comments
Hunter received revealed frustration
for the new policy:
“Dealing with the new parking
app takes longer than the
errand I’m doing”; “I now avoid
the Haddonfield businesses I
used to patronize because of the
parking fee (minimum $1.35)”;
“with all the new tax revenues
generated from the million-dollar
homes being built, parking
should be free for residents.”
Hunter also collected 2,500
signatures through an online
petition in the fall asking to
restore free Saturdays. Not a fan
of the new parking app either,
Hunter maintained that the app
was too difficult for the ‘technologically-challenged’
to learn.
The old parking meters, still
anchored to sidewalks, have
“12-minute free” buttons, that,
pre-kiosk and app, were pushed
by those running short errands
like picking up restaurant takeout.
The new parking system
utilizes both walk-up kiosks
and the cell phone app. Anyone
who doesn’t want to download
the app can pay by credit card
or cash with the kiosk.
Commissioner Frank Troy
asked if Hunter was familiar
with Moore’s Law, which states
“technology changes by half
every two years. “I’ve thought
long and hard about this problem,”
Troy launched in. “There’s
no great time to switch technology.
No matter when you bring
in a new application, or new
procedure, or new system with
new technology: there’s a shift
to something newer, and then
the new technology is a disruptor,
and either you adapt or you
don’t.”
He illustrated Moore’s Law
by pointing to BlackBerry, the
dominant electronic device with
100 percent market share as
recently as 2010. “And within a
few years, BlackBerry was dead,
undone by a technology — apps
— that they never saw coming.
Well, while I sincerely appreciate
all the work you’ve done on
this, David, I don’t want Haddonfield
to be the BlackBerry of
this decade.”
Appealed to by Bianco
Bezich during the commissioner’s
discussion, police chief
Jason Cutler confirmed the system
could be adapted to allow
for free time, if a user is willing
to provide the vehicle’s license
plate number. He allowed that
the system has data-tracking
capabilities, which he later clarified
didn’t mean ‘Big Brother.’
The commission had always
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planned to capture parking data
to evaluate parking trends and
revenue gains or losses twelve
months after the new rules went
into effect.
Commissioner Kevin Roche
had said in September that the
borough switched to the new
system partly to boost its parking
revenues back to pre-pandemic
levels when the annual
revenues averaged $300,000.
Perhaps sensing the three
commissioners wanted a chance
to reverse the unpopular policy,
borough administrator Sharon
McCullough quickly conducted
a straw poll of the three commissioners.
“Are all three of you
saying you want to go back
to the way things used to be,
because we have the ability to
program free time into the kiosk
and app?” she asked. Troy and
Roche nodded their agreement,
along with the mayor.
Solicitor Sal Siciliano was
directed to draft changes to
the parking chapter, which the
commission will review prior
to placing on a meeting agenda.
The earliest the ordinance
would be ready is the next business
meeting on February 26;
if introduced at that meeting,
the second reading, public hearing
and vote on final adoption
would be on March 25, with
an April 1, 2024 effective date.
“Here’s a parking ticket: April
Fool’s!” joked Roche.
Troy added that the borough
could possibly construct
its communication campaign
about reinstating the free minutes’
policy around the nation’s
day for practical jokes.
Hunter, his lengthy campaign
having finally borne results,
offered “it’s a step in the right
direction,” as he left borough
hall. Bianco Bezich added later
that she thought revisiting the
policy was “a win, because it
satisfies much of the feedback
on the missing 12 minutes, and
it enables us to really evangelize
for people to get on the app.”
The task ahead is to educate the
public, which she said would
be done through Instagram and
TikTok reels, with the town’s
business owners contributing
time and resources to the effort.
Meanwhile, if you’re 60 years
of age or older and not willing to
wait until April 1, you can apply
for a $20 senior parking pass,
good for the entire year, which
is displayed in your windshield.
Cutler said more than 500 had
been issued already in 2024.
See
This
Space?
So
Does
Everyone
Else.
Mass Outdoors?
Though the commission
scheduled a lengthy executive
session for Monday, one topic
was released from discussing
behind closed doors, a request
from the leadership of Christ
the King Catholic Church to
hold an outdoor Mass to celebrate
Corpus Christi on Sunday,
June 2. The outdoor Mass,
first of its kind for the parish,
is also supporting the United
States Catholic Bishops’ effort
to revive appreciation for the
Eucharist, Christ the King’s pastor,
Father Jon Thomas wrote in
a follow-up email.
Parish council leader Pete
D’Antonio said the church’s
initial estimate of 400 worshippers
congregating outside at
Library Point was “very optimistic,”
with a realistic number
more in the 235-285 range. The
original estimate had thrown
up red flags, in McCullough’s
assessment, who said 400 “puts
the event into the realm of the
holiday tree lighting and necessitates
things like police security
and port-a-johns.”
Details such as how disruptive
a large gathering would
be while the library is open,
where people would park, and
if police are needed to direct
traffic had to be resolved before
the commission approved the
event, McCullough added.
D’Antonio said parishioners
would park in the Christ the
King lots and walk to Library
Point, and the altar would be
oriented in a way that wouldn’t
prevent people from entering
the library. Volunteers from
Christ the King would direct
pedestrians, who will be bringing
their own chairs. “And, you
agree, the library can’t be the
public restroom for this,” said
the mayor, to which D’Antonio
nodded.
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