Skip to main content

Paid parking coming to downtown

At a community forum on April 21st, it was revealed that downtown parking lots will be metered beginning on May 3rd. From The Phoenix:
The new parking structure in downtown Phoenixville is slated to begin Monday, May 3.

The new structure permits two hour free parking per block on the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of Bridge Street, and unit blocks of North Main and Gay Streets.

The parking lots at Prospect Street, Main and Bridge Streets, Price and Main Streets and Taylor Alley will be dollar an hour parking with meters and a central pay station.

Two hour parking and metered lots will operate as such from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The Parking Authority will have personnel on the streets to enforce adherence to the new parking structure.

There will be parking for residents and the employees of the downtown.

Residents can purchase a month-to-month parking permit for the Taylor Alley lot (behind Family Dollar) for $10 per month. There are 78 parking spots in the Taylor Alley lot for residents and will be on a first come, first served basis.

Any additional parking after the resident needs are taken care of will be allotted to the downtown employees.

The lot across from the Foundry building has been secured by the Parking Authority for employees parking. There are 150 parking spaces in this lot for employee parking and will be open from 6 a.m. until 4 a.m.

Permits will be required for employees on a month-to-month basis for $10.

Read the full article here.

Comments

Julie said…
Insanity.

But thanks for the info.
Anonymous said…
As a result of this the Farmers Market will now be located under the Veterans Memorial Gay Street Bridge. It looks like patrons of the market would have to pay to park in Taylor Alley if street parking is unavailable.
Anonymous said…
So this is smart business planning? You want more customer foot traffic for downtown establishments so institute a parking fee. That should help the retail profits. Ask businesses in Philadelphia how the parking authority contributes to their bottom line. Totally ridiculous for Phoenixville. It is not like the downtown is fully occupied and thriving. The current government needs to be voted out unless everyone wants to see a return of a Phoenixville decaying, debt-ridden, and with spiraling crime.
Anonymous said…
it's funny listening to people complain. It's obvious they are the ones soaking up the parking all day and have the most to lose. Look around people, the whole borough has trouble parking. You've just been spoiled for years because the borough hasn't enforced parking in the downtown since forever.
Mike said…
I don't understand the outrage. This was eventually going to happen. $10 a month doesn't seem unreasonable, neither does a $1 an hour.

Id love some parking enforcement on my street someday, cars seem to be just abandoned.
CaptainV45 said…
I don't mind paying for parking. If you mind, ride a bike or park at Acme and walk into town.
Phoenixvillain said…
I'm in favor of it, if for no other reason than that it will result in a bunch of abandoned vehicles being towed away.
Anonymous said…
We have metered parking, we get rid of metered parking, we get metered parking back. In a few years, we will get rid of it again. We have a thriving downtown, we have a ghost downtown, we have a thriving downtown. In a few years we'll have a ghost downtown again. Life goes on and history repeats itself. Such is the way of the world.
Anonymous said…
I have lived in Phoenixville for over 25 years. As a young woman, I am a little bit nervous to park on the side streets, so I'm happy to see an enforcement to get people to move their cars off the main road within 2 hours during the day. The best thing they can do is try something rather than keep ignoring it. We will learn from this experience, and then finally maybe install a parking garage! Progress people... it's all about progress!
Anonymous said…
I rely on parking in the prospect lot because it is the only thing close to my apartment. I wouldn't mind paying $10/month to park there as it would reduce the abandon cars which is why I don't understand why they can't let the permits park in all of the downtown lots. They are putting the patrons (who can choose not to go out on a rainy day mind you) over the residents who now may have to walk blocks in the rain with groceries.
Anonymous said…
It is just wrong to "punish" the apartment and condo dwellers down town, living in Borough approved residences, which when approved, were allowed to count public parking closest to those residences, in order to justify their approval. Now that very same parking is no longer available to these very same residents. Perhaps someone should investigate the legality of allowing public parking for approval of residential permits and then baning those same residets from using that parking. If I lived there I'd sure talk to an attorney. And if there are abandoned cars, there are certainly better ways to deal with them than baning residential parking or making it unaffordable.
Anonymous said…
There is a facebook group out there with the purpose of coming up with better ideas for the parking situation: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=116873281668146&ref=ts
Anonymous said…
"There is a facebook group out there with the purpose of coming up with better ideas for the parking situation."

The FB group opposes the parking changes. The group states their opposition right in their name:
"Phoenixville residents opposed to the new parking policies." Rather clear.

Most comments are complaints about the recent changes, with few members offering suggestions for alternatives.

The Parking Authority has been in place since April of 2008--more than 2 years now--why did citizens wait to organize and express their discord with the Authority's plans once they were approved and on the way to implementation? One cannot honestly say that these changes come as a surprise.

I will concede that it is possible that the public may not have known exactly to whom to voice their concerns; however, the topic of the Parking Authority has been presented to Council several times over the last year. It has also been covered by both The Phoenix and The Mercury.

Upset with the plans or proposed ideas? Put some actions behind these words. Go to council meetings; speak during public participation. It's your right. Have your voice heard. If you cannot attend meetings, voice your opinion directly to your council member--call them, email them, send them a letter.

Still dissatisfied with what has been implemented? There's a vacancy on the Parking Authority right now. Submit your name and serve on behalf of the interests of the "punished condo and apartment dwellers." It's perfect timing.
~dawn~ said…
The FB group opposes the parking changes. The group states their opposition right in their name:
"Phoenixville residents opposed to the new parking policies." Rather clear.


Some of us joined the group because we can't make heads-or-tails of what's going on with the parking changes, not necessarily because we disagree with the idea of paying for parking within the Borough.

If it wasn't for that group [and this blog], I would have refused the survey sent by the Parking Authority. Certified mail addressed to "Resident" with no return address? Junk mail to me. And to suggest that any residence that doesn't return the survey will be considered vacant is just inflammatory. There are so many other good ways to survey and disseminate information, relying on pen and paper is not very 21st century. And what about the folks who don't speak English? I know there are several families on my block that don't and I'm betting they won't get their survey.....
Anonymous said…
" CaptainV45 said...

I don't mind paying for parking. If you mind, ride a bike or park at Acme and walk into town."

Great idea, that's just what people want to do to go to a nice dinner in town. Don't worry hunny, we'll just park at the acme and walk all the way into town to baxters, don't put on your heels until we get there.

Popular posts from this blog

Local Non-Profit Spotlight: You Are Worth It Foundation

The You Are Worth It Foundation is a grassroots homeless and in-need outreach group from Phoenixville, PA. Around Phoenixville recently asked Chris Brickhouse for some more information about the Foundation and how you can help: Tell us a little about You Are Worth It and how it got started: We are a homeless outreach organizations serving Phoenixville, Pottstown, Norristown, Center City and Kensington in Philly and constantly expanding. We were formed in early 2018 by Dina Rowan and I came on board last June. We have roughly 15 volunteers so far and would like to expand that to expand our reach. We take donated items directly to the people. We provide them with a hot meal and new or lightly used clothing and self-care products. We have long term goals of a mobile shower center, vocational training and assisting with housing in any way possible. What kind of items do you need? We take a wide array of items - individually packaged food, canned goods, ramen, protein bars, water, s