Despite Hoboken’s revitalization over the years, there always seems to be one common complaint about the city from both residents and visitors alike: parking. The lack of available spaces to park on the street, along with somewhat confusing signage, has been a gripe for several decades. But by the end of this year, Hoboken should be close to finishing an overhaul of their street parking system that officials hope betters the situation.
The latest street parking improvement was just rolled out this week. Starting Monday, drivers who park at metered spaces throughout Hoboken can use their iPhone, Android, Windows 7 or Blackberry smartphone to pay for parking through the Parkmobile app, available to download for free. After signing up at www.parkmobile.com, visitors to the Mile Square City can enter a zone number, found on parking stations, and pay through the app via debit or credit card, which also allows users to extend time on their meter without going back to their car.
Users of the Parkmobile apps may also choose to receive alerts and reminders on their phone prior to expiration of their parking session. The technology is fairly new, but several other towns in New Jersey have rolled out the Parkmobile system already and major cities like Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. also have Parkmobile capabilities on their meters.
The pay system should come in handy as more meters will be coming soon to Hoboken’s residential streets. For years, the city has allowed non-residents to park on one side of almost all the roads west of Washington Street for up to 4 hours free of charge. But the 4-hour rule isn’t enforced on weekends, which some argue makes it harder for residents to find street parking.
In an attempt to remedy this, the City Council voted in June to make all those formerly free spaces metered parking for non-residents, which they hope will generate revenue for road improvements and create greater turnover of spaces. Residents with a parking sticker on their car can still park in those areas for free and city issued visitors’ passes will still be valid, but non-residents will have to pay the metered rates and can only park on-street for four hours.
The rollout of the new meter stations should happen in the Fall. City spokesman Juan Melli told Jersey Digs that the order for the meters has been placed and the city expects to receive them by November at the earliest, at which point they’ll be rolled out.
The Council also approved a resolution at last night’s meeting to request bids for the new parking signs that will clarify the revamped rules. While parking in Hoboken is probably an issue that is destined to be eternally debated, residents and visitors alike should anticipate the total overhaul finishing up early next year.
