By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – They won’t have to shove quarters into a meter, but motorists will have to pay to park their vehicles in the spots along the promenade on Amherst Avenue starting this summer. It will be the only location in the city where motorists will have to pay to park.
The Board of Commissioners Thursday, April 21 introduced an ordinance to establish a parking meter zone on the bay side of Amherst Avenue from Adams Avenue to Coolidge Avenue. Parking fees, which will be collected electronically using a smart phone app, will be in effect from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The parking fee is “nominal” Police Chief Matthew Hankinson said. Motorists will pay $1 an hour to park in the angled parking spots in front of the promenade. The fees will be in effect 24 hours a day throughout the summer months. Free parking will be available in the handicapped spots only.
The idea is to generate parking turnover in the marina business district with as little inconvenience and cost to motorists.
“We wanted it to be user friendly and not charge an excessive fee,” Commissioner of Public Safety John Amodeo said. “In the past, people living in the area would park in the spots and not move their vehicles for several days. It’s been an issue and we need to do this to support our businesses along the bayfront.”
Free parallel parking is still available on the ocean side of Amherst Avenue.
Motorists parking in one of 62 spots won’t have to fumble with coins or insert a credit card into a kiosk for payment like they do in Ventnor.
Hankinson said he researched several virtual apps and settled on Park Mobile, which is used in Atlantic City, Philadelphia and Ocean City. According to its website, ParkMobile, LLC is the “leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, providing a contactless way for millions of people to easily find, reserve, and pay for parking on their mobile device.”
Hankinson said motorists can download the app to their cell phones and create an account that includes their credit card information. The driver will enter the virtual meter or “zone” code posted on signage in the area, set the number of hours they expect to be there along with the vehicle identification, pay and go. Motorists will be notified by text when time is about to expire. Time can be extended, but only up to 12 hours. Up to five vehicles can be registered to the account.
The penalty for violating the ordinance is $35.
Hankinson said police will have an “enforcement app” to target those who overstay without extending their time or park for more than 12 hours.
The city is allowing parking up to 12 hours to accommodate fishers who go out on their boats for the day.
Amodeo said the city has no intention of establishing parking meter zones anywhere else in the city.
“I’m not in favor of it citywide,” Amodeo said. “We just needed something like this to support our small businesses and the marinas.”
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held 4 p.m. Thursday, May 5 at Historic City Hall, 1 S. Washington Ave.
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