The village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees recently began discussing the possibility of increasing both parking meter rates and expanding meter times on Mamaroneck Avenue. The discussion comes from a recommendation made by the village Ad Hoc Parking Committee to the board, which is based on a 2014 study done by Walker Parking Consultants.
According to Village Manager Richard Slingerland, the committee suggested that the board increase the hours that meters run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and that the rates increase from 75 cents per hour to $1 per hour. A memo written by the ad hoc committee to the village board indicates that other streets and parking lot rates would remain the same. Slingerland said that in a village board work session held on May 2, the board decided to involve the Mamaroneck Chamber of Commerce before making any final decisions.
Maria DeRose, chairwoman of the committee, told the Review that the main purpose of increasing the meter time is to promote turnover on Mamaroneck Avenue.
“We want people to come to the avenue and to stay as long as they want,” she said. “But we want everyone to have a fair chance at doing this.” DeRose added that because meter rates and times would remain the same in parking lots and other village streets, patrons of the avenue could park in those lots, only pay until 6 p.m., and park for as long as they’d like, while simultaneously freeing up parking spaces on the avenue for more restaurant patrons and shoppers.
But Justin Zeytoonian, co-owner of the Smokehouse Tailgate Grill, located on Mamaroneck Avenue, told the Review that he believes there should be better signage to direct patrons to the parking lots that are already available before extending the meter times on the avenue.
“Nobody knows about the parking lots in the back,” said Zeytoonian, adding that at a restaurant, the owners want their patrons to be able to stay and hang out during the dinner hours.
As far as the increase in meter rates goes, DeRose said that $1 per hour is pretty standard in most municipalities. Currently, the village charges 25 cents for 20 minutes of parking. DeRose called the increase in time and rate “a fair compromise.”
