Opinion

Parking meters in the village of Mamaroneck

To the Editor,

I wish to follow up on the Review’s Sept. 30 article regarding parking meters in the village of Mamaroneck.

My position is simple: As a member of the Board of Trustees, I look forward to reviewing the recommendations of the Parking Advisory Committee, PAC, and hearing public input on these recommendations.

As a trustee, I initiated and supported the formation of the volunteer, nonpartisan PAC in June 2015 to advise the village board on parking issues in the central business district. I sought to depoliticize the controversy that had erupted when the board moved to implement recommendations from our parking consultant to install multi-space meters on Mamaroneck Avenue.

According to the article, the Parking Advisory Committee’s chair informed the reporter that the committee will recommend the installation of single-space meters on Mamaroneck Avenue. There is no question that single-space meters are more convenient than multi-space meters. My question to residents will be whether the additional cost is worth the convenience. Preliminary financial analysis by village staff indicates that the cost of single-space meters will be $2 million more than the multi-space alternative over a projected seven-year life.

My personal preferences will not dictate my position on which meters the village should install. It will be up to residents to review the alternatives and guide the village board on how to consider the trade-off between convenience and cost. If residents decide to choose multi-space meters from a cost perspective, the village can and will address the poor user experience of the current multi-space model.

Leon Potok,
Trustee, village of Mamaroneck