Should Ridgewood Consider 3-Hour Parking Meters?

Ever rush out from the salon with bleach-tinged tips of foil to shove additional quarters into the parking meter? And then did you find a ticket glued to your windshield? Did you scream in frustration? Just sigh?

While Ridgewood's downtown may suffer from a few particular woes – the decline of retail, an occasionally uninspiring mix of tenants – arguably its biggest lies in the century-old problem of parking.

For starters, there's not much of it. And when if you find it on the street, most likely you're going to be eyeing your watch while chewing your chow or ringing up that charge card. After all, time's a tickin' once you drop four quarters in the two-hour meter.

Addressing the council to speak about a new initiative to revive Ridgewood's arts scene (stay tuned for more on that), Ridgewood Guild leader Tony Damiano said the parking continues to be woeful in the village. While Damiano, the owner of gift shop dujour Mango Jam, says he wouldn't get rid of parking meters, he believes some tinkering is in order.

"I would increase it to three hours," he said, referring to street parking in the downtown. "Someone who comes into town cannot do what they want in two hours...it's a nightmare."

For his part, Mayor Paul Aronsohn said the idea is promising.

"It's worth exploring," he remarked.

Well, esteemed citizens of Ridgewood – what say you? Would an increase of parking on the meters from two-hour time limits to three hours make a big difference?

Share your thoughts in the comments.