Mt. Pleasant Mulls Hiking Train Station Parking Fees
The Mount Pleasant Town Board is considering raising its fees at the town’s train station parking lots to be more in line with the rates charged in other municipalities.
Town Clerk Patricia Scova requested a hike in the parking fees at the Hawthorne and Valhalla lots in a letter to the board earlier this month, which would also help the town pay for maintaining the lots. Scova said the town has seen an increase in parking at its commuter lots and is receiving complaints from commuters who are having difficulty finding spaces.
The town sold 946 annual parking passes for 2014, 36 of which were obtained by non-residents.
Scova has asked the town board to hike the annual parking fee from $215 to $235 for residents next year. Parking pass costs have not been raised since January 2013.
Currently, non-residents are charged $500 for a yearly pass. Some non-residents commute from New York City to work in Mount Pleasant, said Scova, who also recommended ending the sale of passes to non-residents.
“We have always oversold but not everyone goes to work every day,” Scova said. “This past Tuesday there was not one space in the Valhalla commuter lot; usually there are 20 to 30 spaces that are open.”
Scova submitted a list of parking fees, which indicated Mount Pleasant has the lowest rates among several communities in the area. For example, New Castle’s annual parking fee for residents is $425 and $900 for non-residents, she said.
Town board members said they should consider raising the parking fees even higher than Scova proposed. Councilwoman Laurie Smalley said the fee should be adequate to cover the town’s costs of maintaining the train station parking lots.
Councilman Mark Rubeo said the board should consider raising the annual rate to $250 for residents and $650 for non-residents. Under the current rates there are not enough open spaces in the lots, he said.
“The priority has to be residents,” Rubeo said.
The board did not make a final decision on the issue at last week’s meeting. No date was announced to continue the discussion.
