Ventnor will continue discussion that started in October 2019 about parking in the North Beach area.
VENTNOR – Summer will be here soon and discussion about where to park all the vehicles that bring visitors to the Jersey shore has already begun. The Board of Commissioners has announced it will continue a discussion that started last fall about issuing parking permits for the North Beach area during a worksession to be held in February.
Members of the community who live in the city’s 1st Ward are encouraged to attend the Feb. 13 Board of Commissioners meeting to continue a discussion about the future of the city’s parking permit policy.
The city currently provides unlimited parking in the 2-hour parking zone for residents who purchase a permit. Those permits are restricted to residents who live in the north end of the 1st Ward from Jackson Avenue to Frankfort Avenue and Winchester Avenue to the Boardwalk, as well as several high-rise condominiums.
During the meeting, commissioners will describe the current ordinance and new factors that may have an effect on parking, including the opening in April of the Ventnor Square Theater on Ventnor Avenue, as well as possible changes to the policy. Members of the Police Department and a professional traffic engineer will be on hand for the discussion.
“It will be similar to the open house we had at the Community Center,” Commissioner Tim Kriebel said. “We want to be as open with the public as possible.”
During the public meeting held at the Community Center in October, Police Chief Douglas Biagi said there are about 650 parking spaces available in the North Beach area, but the city issued 6,630 parking permits at a cost of $1 each. A few weeks later, the city increased the fee to $2.
During the Oct. 12, 2019 meeting, Kriebel said the city was considering several options, including leaving the two-hour parking limit and permit policy in place; raising the cost of permits to $10 for residents, $25 for guests; issuing permits for the 100 days of summer when the population rises from 10,000 to 30,000; raising the cost of parking permits to several hundred dollars; limiting residents of the high-rises to one or two permits per unit; or completely eliminating the time limit and permitting system.
Letters have been sent to the high-rise condominium associations encouraging their residents to attend the worksession, Kriebel said.
Those who cannot attend are encouraged to watch a recording of the session that will be posted on the city’s website under the “Live Meetings” tab in the upper right corner of the home page.
The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13. It will be held in Commission Chambers at Ventnor City Hall, 6201 Atlantic Ave.
