Mall Meters Remain Active

You can still park free-just not there

One of the expected signs of fall in Cape May is the dismantling of parking meters. This year, however don’t look for them to go off on streets surrounding the Washington Street Mall.

At the (reasonable) request of merchants on the mall, council leadership has agreed to leave the meters on Carpenter, Lyle and Mansion on through the end of the year. They will also restart a month earlier next spring in April. The Park Mobile App will still be in use on these blocks.

The meters remaining active in this area is not a revenue stream for the city. It is designed to discourage employee parking on these six blocks. Leaving spaces (hopefully) available for you the consumer.

A solution to the Cape May parking problem this is not. Comments on an earlier blog on this topic offered ideas. Ideas that candidates for council should look at.

This is a photo taken around 8:00 AM on October 31st of last year. Meters are still active and only one car is parked on Carpenter Lane.

Deliberately sparing anyone embarrassment I won’t post the photo from the same time November 1st. Guess what? Same time, no stores open yet and not one space left.

Mall Meters Remain Active

That’s why meters are staying on till the end of the year. To redirect local workers from parking on Carpenter, Mansion and Lyle lane. Parking will still be free on Jackson, Beach, Congress Place and everywhere else in Cape May.

Picture this: Last year at the height of the Christmas season, two dads desperately looking for parking spaces so they could see their daughters dance on the veranda of Congress Hall, nearly got into a fist fight over the last parking space.

Preserving the spaces around the mall might not prevent fights, but it should relieve the pressure for shoppers to find spaces.

From my vantage point at the Victorian Motel, I see you circling and circling looking for parking so you can visit the mall. Employees can still park for free along Beach Avenue, Congress Place, South Lafayette and along Jackson Street. Unless they choose to pay and save a few steps. I doubt it.

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