RED BANK: DOWNTOWN PARKING. THOUGHTS?
Regular users of Red Bank’s public parking facilities: here’s your chance to weigh in on what’s good about them, what’s not, and how to improve them.
RED BANK: COUNCIL MUM ON GARAGE PLANS
A lawsuit claims the redevelopment plan for the White Street parking lot ignores the town’s Master Plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Would-be developers in downtown Red Bank will no longer have to pay fees for failing to provide enough parking, following action by the borough council Wednesday night.
But progress toward a public garage on White Street — a partial solution to what many business owners consider a parking crisis — may have hit a legal speed bump.
RED BANK: PARKING CHANGES ON AGENDA
On the agenda: a change to the ordinance on overnight street parking in winter. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A possible 773-vehicle garage on White Street isn’t the only parking issue on the Red Bank council’s agenda Wednesday night.
At its semimonthly meeting, the governing body is expected to take action on a number of matters that would tweak parking downtown as well as in residential neighborhoods.
RED BANK: PARKING NEWS
Under a recommendation of the council parking committee, the left-turn lane from Broad Street into Linden Lane would be eliminated, restoring three parking spaces on the west side of Broad. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
For the first time in recent months, the clamor for and against a new parking garage in downtown Red Bank was absent at the first regular council meeting of 2017 Wednesday night.
Still, there was a smattering of parking-related news.
RED BANK: VALET PARKING GETS FEWER SPOTS
A drop-off area outside Char Steakhouse has been eliminated under changes to the Broad Street valet parking program, officials said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Love it or hate it, downtown Red Bank’s valet parking service about to undergo some more changes.
Red Bank RiverCenter, the special improvement district overseer, has taken over administrative control of the program, which was previously loosely run by individual stores and restaurants, said agency executive director Jim Scavone.
In addition, two zones – one for drop-off and one for pick-up – have been reduced to one since Monday night. That means this weekend will be the first test of whether the new arrangement – which is actually a reversion to the original set-up – will be adequate, said Scavone, who plans to work Thursday night to observe the activity.
RED BANK: VALET PARKING GOES WEST
Curbside valet service is expected to ease parking pressures resulting from the construction of the West Side Lofts. (Click to enlarge)
By WIL FULTON
Like Broad Street, Bridge Avenue in Red Bank will have its own valet service during evenings in an attempt to improve the accessibility of nearby businesses and attract those weary of parking woes caused by the West Side Lofts project.
This week, the borough council Ok’d a valet service on Bridge Avenue on a temporary basis.
This is a wonderful season for Red Bank in terms of our rebirth and revitalization,” Menna said, “and as a result of the redevelopment on the West Side there is a need because the West Side Lofts projects are starting construction to hold a valet parking program.”
COUNCIL NEWS: PARKING, LIBRARIAN, BUDGET
The valet station on Broad Street in October. Under an approval granted by local officials, another will be added outside the soon-to-open Char Steakhouse. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Items from Wednesday night’s meeting of the Red Bank Mayor and Council:
More downtown parking spaces are being set aside for valet service with the anticipated arrival of Char Steakhouse.
The town has a new head librarian.
And the cost of providing health insurance to borough employees is rising, but at a slower pace than last year.
VISITORS WARM TO VALET SERVICE
Red Bank RiverCenter‘s experiment with downtown valet parking got off to a slow start last Friday night, below, but things picked up Saturday night, above, said Phil Bopp, who manages the operation for Citi Park, the contractor.
The service, which costs $10, is available on Friday and Saturday nights until 2 a.m. through September. The valet station is on Broad Street near Mechanic Street. (Photo below by Stacie Fanelli. Click to enlarge)
ATRIUM LOT PLAN HITS SPEED BUMP
A representative of the Atrium at Navesink holds an artist’s depiction of the proposed lot while residents listen to testimony at last night’s zoning board hearing. (Click to enlarge)
Questions about traffic and pedestrian safety slowed plans for a 98-car valet parking lot to serve the Atrium at Navesink Harbor senior citizen high-rise last night.
Complicating the work of the Red Bank zoning board was its own determination to weigh the plan as though a second, pending proposal for the addition of six stories to an already approved six-floor annex to the Atrium did not exist. That plan is expected to land before the board as early as next month.