Parking lot kiosks expected in summer
The city is in the process of buying payment kiosks for several of its municipal parking lots and expects the machines to be delivered around July, Mayor Steve Noble said Thursday.
Noble said once the kiosks arrive, they will be installed in six of the city’s municipal lots: three in the Uptown business district; on Cornell and Prince streets in Midtown; and on Dock Street in the Rondout area. The mayor also said the city will be launching a process in the next month or so to also begin selling $10 permits to anyone who feels they are a frequent user of the lots, which currently are free for all users.
The permits, allowing holders to avoid paying hourly rates at the new kiosks, will be valid through the end of the year, Noble said.
Three city lots will not be getting kiosks and will remain free to use: the ones next to Sea Deli and Arace Electronics on Broad-
way in Midtown, and the one at the Trolley Museum of New York in the Rondout district.
The Common Council voted in early March to have the city borrow $125,000 to buy the kiosks.
Noble said he knows the kiosk plan is unpopular among some city residents and business owners, but that he still wants to try it. He also said the Parking Work Groip he appointed will look at all issues surrounding parking in the city and attempt to address them. Noble said the group will meet on a “somewhat monthly” basis and hold public informational meetings in each of the city’s business districts as it moves forward.
As the work group delves into the parking issue, the city might find the kiosks do not work in the municipal lots, Noble said. In that case, he would be open to scrapping the plan and relocating the kiosks to city streets that already have metered parking space.
“I’m very open to how we move this forward,” the mayor said.
Noble also said he told the work group that he wants to issue permits because the city doesn’t know how many people use the municipal lots each day. If the city sells 500 permits that are used every day, then the group will have to look at how Kingston manages parking and possibly move to permit-only parking in some areas, he said.
“We’re not sure yet because we don’t have the data,” Noble said. He said he expects the city will sell 100 to 200 permits this year, though there is no limit.
The city’s 2017 budget anticipated $175,000 in revenue from parking fees, but that was based on the kiosks being purchased and installed by April 1 and on-street meter rates being increased at the same time. Of the revenue, $100,000 was earmarked just for maintenance of the city’s municipal lots.
“We’re not exactly sure what the financial impact will be,” Noble said. .
Noble said there currently is no date set for when on-street meter rates will increase from 50 cents to $1 per hour. He said the city will provide at least two weeks’ notice before the rates rise.