Parking rate increased to $1 per hour at metered spots

Borough considering parking kiosks for public lots

OXFORD » As of July 1, the rate at parking meters in the borough increased to $1 per hour. This is the first of a number of expected changes being made as the borough moves closer to building a parking garage.

Currently, Borough Council is working on a new parking ordinance that will pave the way toward the changes that will go along with the new three-story parking structure. During their July 10 work session, council members discussed some of the possibilities for the new regulations.

One of the first changes, that could come as early as October, is the installation of parking kiosks where motorists will pay for parking in the borough’s three public lots that are currently free of charge. There are approximately 160 parking spaces in those lots.

Under discussion at this time are arrangements for permit parking for those lots that could be purchased by business owners for their employees and for residents of rental units over commercial buildings. One suggested price is $60 per month per permit, but there was discussion of allowing discounted rates for those purchasing multiple permits or buying for longer time periods, such as a quarter or a full year.

With all of the public parking in the Business Improvement District (BID) effectively metered, permits could also be issued to residents in the nearby areas, roughly within one block of the BID.

Residential permits would be issued at a nominal fee to cover the actual cost of the hang tags that would be allocated to residents in these areas. A parking permit board would be responsible for reviewing permit requests for onstreet parking when there are no off-street options available. Residents could also receive visitor permits to be given to guests parking on the street.

Council also spent a large portion of the meeting discussing how alcohol use is addressed during First Friday events. Questions have come up concerning the legality of people purchasing beer and carrying their partially filled cups with them between venues during these evenings.

Borough ordinances prohibit alcohol outside controlled areas, but they specifically reference sidewalk cafés rather than special events.

“Council has to talk about what we want First Friday to look like,” Council President Ron Hershey said.

At this point, the borough police will continue to enforce the ordinances as they understand it, but now council is considering bringing the ordinance up for review or at least clarification,

“We need to understand what we need to do to not just make it legal but make it responsible,” Council Member Randy Grace said.