Paying Summit Parking Fees—There's an App for That

City partners with Parkmobile to offer cellphone payment for revamped parking.

Editor's Note: The following is a press release. With the launch of Parkmobile, residents and visitors of Summit will be able to conduct their parking transactions by mobile phone. The City of Summit, NJ and Parkmobile USA, Inc. is happy to announce that Parkmobile pay by mobile phone service has been implemented in Summit, NJ. Customers can pay for parking with their cell phone using Parkmobile’s native mobile applications for iPhone, Android, Windows 7, and Blackberry smartphones. Anyone can use Parkmobile with a smart phone or any cell phone by calling 1‐877‐727‐5304 once registered. Simple to use, customers pre‐register at www.parkmobile.com setting up a virtual wallet account with a minimum deposit of $25. Parking fees will be …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (5)
• Documents (1)

Summit Parking Lot Construction Updates

For questions or concerns about parking in Summit email parking@cityofsummit.org or call 908-522-5100.

Summit parking officials have announced changes to city lots and garages, which are currently being renovated. Lot parking times have changed and affect overnight parking as well as daily commuters. Park & Shop Lot #3 re-opens today and Lot #2 closes. Here is a breakdown of the changes, provided by the city:  PARK & SHOP LOT #3 - SUMMIT AND DEFOREST - REOPENING - July 16 On Monday, July 16 Park & Shop Lot #3 will reopen. All prepaid overnight parkers can resume parking in Lot#3. Remember that all overnight parkers must remove their vehicles by 8 AM Monday through Saturday. Thank you for your patience during the construction phase. Work still needs to be completed in this lot such as the installation of equipment, shelters, gates, cameras, …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Watch Where You Park, This Site Will Call You Out

"You Park Stupid" Facebook page shines light on questionable parking skills.

Needed a caffeine fix at Starbucks, and the nearest spot was right on top of those stripes on Union Place?  You might want to think twice before taking the chance, because a new Facebook page, "You Park Stupid," might just call you out on that decision. The page was started by Somerville resident John Flores, who was getting ticked off when he kept seeing the same bad parking job while visiting his father at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. "Some days they were parked OK, but most days they were parked awfully," he said. "I shared photos on my personal wall and got a lot of friends talking about it. That's when the lightbulb went off and the small group started." Since then, "You Park Stupid" has finger-wagged a number of bad …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Camilo H. Smith

1:19 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012

That's pretty amusing. Thanks for the comment.   more ›

Paid Parking Ordinance OK'd for Downtown Summit

Residents and merchants filled the council chambers to share opinions about Summit's new paid parking plan.

Although several residents spoke out against a move to abolish the free shopper parking at the lots on Deforest Avenue, an ordinance to do so passed 6-1 by the Summit Council on Monday night. Councilman Pat Hurley was the lone dissenting voice calling the move risky since downtown shoppers only would have 30 minutes of free parking versus 2 hours. "I can't support this," he said of the ordinance.  Councilman Dr. Robert Rubino, who voted for the ordinance, agreed that free paid parking was a topic of sensitivity. "Thirty minutes might not be enough," Rubino said about the unpaid time shoppers would get under a new parking system. Rubino said he was glad the council was moving forward on the issue, but that flexibility was key. "We try to …

•  16 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Council Approves 2012 Budget; Introduces New Parking Ordinance

The plan to renovate DeForest Avenue Park & Shop lots and begin charging is set for May 15 hearing.

The Common Council met Tuesday night, here's what happened:   2012 Budget: The council moved to adopt the municipal operating budget for 2012, in the amount of $47,072,189. The average household with an assessed value of $405,000 will see a total tax increase of 3.6% percent, according to the city's Budget Snapshot. Parking: Council also introduced a general services ordinance to amend the parking fees for the Deforest Park and Shop lots with a fee structure ranging from $1 to $20. A bond ordinance also was approved in the amount of $750,000 for improvements to the lot and to add an access control gate.   In other news:

•  3 Comments
• Photos (2)

Poll: How Would You Improve Parking?

Vote in our poll.

The Summit Parking Advisory Committee, which formed last December is expected to release recommendations for improvements to Downtown's parking problems. But what would you do if you called the shots? Let's say the choice is all yours. What would you do first? Get rid of those computerized meters and install more user-friendly ones? Add more five-hour paid parking spots near the train station? Build another garage? Vote in our parking poll, share your views on this matter. If we missed an idea, let us know in the comments.

•  8 Comments
• Photos (2)

SDI Chooses New Board of Trustees and President

Paperfolio's Emi Havas takes the lead of Summit Downtown Inc for the second time.

The Summit Downtown, Inc. (SDI) Board of Trustees held its first meeting of 2012 with newly elected Trustees - two returning Board Members, Rich Lorenson of Schroth & Lorenson Jewelers, Stephen Pardee, Resident at Large and Robert Weakley, Property Owner of 73-75 Union Place, who is new to the Board.  Today the Board of Trustees elected the following officers.  Emi Havas, Chairperson, Paperfolio; Kevin Smallwood, Vice Chairman, Smallwood Financial; Detlef Felschow, Treasurer, Hilltop Community Bank, and Lori Dahl, Secretary, Coldwell Banker.  "This is my second time being chairperson," said Havas, who runs the store Paperfolio. "We have a good board, and a great executive committee," she said. Summit Downtown, Inc. is a non-profit …

• Photos (1)

Summit's New Parking Advisory Committee

The group that helps analyze and recommend parking initiatives was announced this week as part of a new resolution.

The new members of a revamped parking committee were announced this week. The parking committee consists of 12 members in all. There are seven people who are chosen as "Community-at-large" members  who will serve two-year terms. One-year terms will be served by the following: the Common Council President, a member of the council's general services committee, and a council member on Summit Downtown, Inc. Both the City Administrator and Parking Services Manager will serve without limit. "Clearly over the past year there was a lot of discussion about certain issues having to do with parking, which is an issue that always evokes more passion in this city," said councilwoman Nouris Portuondo at this week's council meeting. "In the past we had …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Let the Sun Shine In On Parking

Regarding "sunshine laws" and the failure of the downtown parking initiative.

First, my apologies to the citizens of Summit for failing to deliver a paid parking program in the DeForest lots.  I take full responsibility for the failed initiative.  I trust that at some point in the future, the initiative can be revived to provide citizens and visitors alike with a more fair and pleasant parking experience. The irony is that City Staff, public officials and most of the stakeholders in the downtown also wanted the program.  However, the story, and it is a story, overshadowed the need to address the parking situation in those lots. I write to dispel the notion that I or any other Councilperson, has plotted against providing transparency and clarity to the public with regard to this initiative. So, I want to let the sun …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

Paid Shopper Parking Halted, Again, By Bond Ordinance Failure

Amendments to rates and times approved; equipment bond ordinance fails.

Common Council approved rates and times to implement paid shopper parking but the plan has been halted once again by council's failure to pass the bond ordinance to pay for the plan. "What we are trying to create is a positive parking experience," said Councilwoman Nuris Portundo, who was present via conference call.   However, Mayor Jordan Glatt asked to delay a vote until September due to the fact that he felt the Democratic process had been shirked when the proposal became an ordinance at the June 21 council meeting after be listed on the agenda as an item for Discussion, Action or Referral. Glatt said neither he nor Councilmen Steve Murphy or Michael Vernotico receieved any information regarding the ordinance prior to the meeting. "The…

•  23 Comments
• Photos (1)