January 15
...serving up your daily dish.
Here's an interesting little social experiment. Take a brand new $8.6 million parking deck, install just two pay stations, and see what happens when the 7:30 Friday or Saturday shows at the Clairidge get out.
The wait Friday night after "Match Point" -- about 10 minutes. But it went even slower than the movie.
some people try to pay at the gate and hold up the line. they need more pay machines and better signage.
Posted by: Angela | Jan 15, 2006 7:48:30 AM
1.when you go in with your car you take a ticket. 2.keep it with you!
3.when you return you walk up to one of the yellow pay machines. stick your ticket in and pay what it tells you.
4.keep the ticket with you.
5 drive to the exit gate and stick the paid ticket in.the gate will lift and you're out!
Posted by: Angela | Jan 15, 2006 8:15:54 AM
1.when you go in with your car you take a ticket. 2.keep it with you!
3.when you return you walk up to one of the yellow pay machines. stick your ticket in and pay what it tells you.
4.keep the ticket with you.
5 drive to the exit gate and stick the paid ticket in.the gate will lift and you're out!
Posted by: Angela | Jan 15, 2006 8:16:52 AM
Sounds like a lot of unnecessary, additonal steps to me. It should be "one-stop shopping." In other words, you should be able to pay at the gate.
Posted by: Miss Martta (8T) | Jan 15, 2006 8:41:04 AM
Do you have to pay with a credit/debit card? Do you have to have exact change otherwise? What is the fee per hour?
Posted by: late | Jan 15, 2006 9:33:48 AM
Has the special deal of two hours free parking at the Crescent ended?
Pay at the gate technology works fine, Newark airport uses it, but it tends to be a bit longer to process. With a two gate exit like Crescent has, it would simply transfer the congestion from the machine to the gate.
After a person inserts their parking card, they insert a credit card. The system dials up the credit approver, gets an approval, and then lifts the gate.
With the EZ Pass alternative, you have the problem of somebody blocking the gate because they don't have the pass.
Posted by: Paul from OB | Jan 15, 2006 9:39:48 AM
The good news is that people are obviously using the new deck; I'll speak with the Parking Authority about whether they should add a third pay station.
Posted by: Ed Remsen | Jan 15, 2006 9:50:50 AM
Ed, the pay stations are on opposite sides of the deck. You need at least one more on each side. Probably two.
Posted by: The Barista | Jan 15, 2006 10:10:00 AM
Your Graciousness, Ms Barista,
we're gonna meet again next Sat at 11:00am at the STbux on Valley road. Love to see you for some coffee and...
Posted by: The Iceman (8T) | Jan 15, 2006 10:19:12 AM
Paying at the gate is a bad idea...it'd hold things up even more. There's only one gate, so it'd create a long line as people fumbled for money. The process now isnt bad...you walk in, pay, get in your car and leave. They just need more pay machines.
Posted by: Butch | Jan 15, 2006 11:11:20 AM
I realize the need to pay for the new parking garage (and no doubt, it was needed!) but it is the ONLY place downtown where one needs to pay for parking after 6 pm. I went to the movies on Thursday and three hours of parking costs $1.50. While that's not a "king's ransom" by any means, it does mean I'll be looking for a vacant meter (where I don't have to pay for parking after 6 pm) rather than turn immediately to the new deck.
Posted by: MontclairMom | Jan 15, 2006 11:36:21 AM
I know I am demented however at least 2 of the woman with pocketbooks dangling from their sides look like easy targets for a purse snatch. Security is the most important issue.
Posted by: cstarling | Jan 15, 2006 11:36:49 AM
This is a timely topic for me. I parked at the deck last night for the later show of Matchpoint and when we left there was also a looong line at the pay station and guess what? it didn't take any bills - only quarters. Adding to the #$%^ there wasn't any way for all of those people to turn their dollars to quarters. Thankfully I happened to have a car full of quarters but really, it is unacceptable to have an unmanned lot that doesn't take credit cards or at the least have a change machine for when the paystation is broken/out of change.
Posted by: grcanary | Jan 15, 2006 11:45:47 AM
There is a 20 minutes grace period before you have to pay. We went to the movies last Friday night and it was sold out. When we went back to our car, it took a another 1/2 hour to get out of the garage. People were honking, swearing, and cutting the car line in order to get out of the garage. When I finally got to the gate, I was charged $.50. Not breaking our bank account, but certainly annoying.
At another visit, I only had a $20 bill for a $.50 fee. I got change of $12.50 in quarters and nickels and still had to walk to the other side of the garage to get the rest of my change from the office. They gave me the rest in $1 bills!
This is the most inefficient garage management. It is a practice in how many idiots can run a parking garage.
Posted by: Barbara | Jan 15, 2006 11:48:52 AM
*chants* EZ-PASS, EZ-PASS!
Are restaurants and whatnot going to be able to validate your parking as is done in Morristown and other places?
Posted by: echriscopal | Jan 15, 2006 11:58:46 AM
On Saturday at 4:00 pm -- same problem. Long line at the pay station; long line of cars to exit. Definitely some kinks to work out there.
Posted by: Jessica | Jan 15, 2006 1:05:27 PM
and btw -- we saw Casanova last night. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It was one of the wittiest movies I've seen in years.
Posted by: Jessica | Jan 15, 2006 1:07:11 PM
Ah Hem! I predicted this back in one of my previous comments about this structure shortly after it opened! Ah, the joy of truthfully being able to say "I Told You So!!!"
Posted by: fussyhostess | Jan 15, 2006 2:16:07 PM
Sounds like meters at each space would have been more efficient
Posted by: late | Jan 15, 2006 2:21:42 PM
Aside from them needing a few more stations, the concept is not really ALL that difficult to comprehend, especially with all the signage that says PAY BEFORE YOU GO UP TO YOUR CAR or whatever it says. the problem lies mainly in the morons who sit at the gate waiting for something to happen or someone to come over to help them get out.
Posted by: drob | Jan 15, 2006 3:49:18 PM
So interesting! I've now decided to never go to the parking deck. Security problems, long waits, incorrect change, etc... I'd rather walk.
Posted by: njholdem | Jan 16, 2006 8:16:38 AM
I would think that if they wanted people to use the new parking garage they would have made it as hassle-free as possible. But that's me.
Like njholdem, I think I'll just leave a little earlier, look for a spot on the street or at a meter, and walk.
Posted by: Miss Martta (8T) | Jan 16, 2006 8:28:17 AM
All this efficiency being promoted assumes that machines don't break ever down, which they did Saturday night. The pay machine farthest from the front gate was eating people's tickets (mine included) and not accepting payment. This caused further delay, of course, at the gate as attendents and customers didn't know quite what to do.
Other than adding a pay machine on each floor, in general, I have few complaints and love the new deck.
Posted by: todd | Jan 16, 2006 9:35:24 AM
