Parking Meters Coming To Patchogue Village Late-Summer

Parking meters will be returning to Patchogue Village as early as September, as the Patchogue Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved a bid for parking meters during Tuesday’s Patchogue Village Board of Trustees meeting at Patchogue Village Hall.

The parking meters would be placed at Main Street, South Ocean Avenue and Church Street parking lots. The meters would be high-tech, in that they would be networked via cellular internet connection, and customers can pay for parking from the machine as well as from a cell phone, said Gerry Giosa of Level G Parking Consultants. The meters are also solar powered and wireless.

An estimate for 22 multispace meters is costing the Village $256,440 as part of a five-year lease, and Giosa said it was estimated to bring the Village $500,000 in revenue every year. Following the lease, the Village will likely then own the parking meters.

Giosa said that the company that won the bid estimates to have the meters ready as early as August 16, which is 17 days earlier than a target date of Sept. 3. Deputy Mayor Jack Krieger told Patch after the meeting that while the meters will likely be installed in August, that they probably would start operation after the Labor Day weekend.

The Village is still discussing how the meters would be run, but it was tentatively mentioned that charges would not start at most meters until 6 p.m. However, the possibility of charging parking on Main Street all day long was also mentioned. Krieger told Patch after the meeting that a commission of people still to be determined will figure out what should be the parking rates and operation periods.

Possible fees were not discussed. Also not confirmed is whether or not Village residents would have to pay any fees. When the topic was discussed in November, it was said that Village residents would be able to obtain a sticker and park for free. While that may change, there will still be free parking areas such as the Terry Street parking lot. Giosa presented that businesses should have the option of paying parking fees for their customers, should they want to keep them from leaving their store or restaurant in order to pay the meter.

Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri said in November that revenue from parking meters would help expand parking lots.

“It will give us funds that we need to purchase properties and to create more parking because we are tight,” Pontieri said in November.

The meters currently at the Patchogue Long Island Rail Road station would also be converted to the new system.

Parking meters previously were on Main Street in Patchogue Village, and Krieger said they were removed around 1998.

The meters were approved by a 5-0 vote, trustee Gerard Crean was absent.

What are your thoughts on parking meters returning to Patchogue Village? Talk about it in the comments.