Council member Charles Morgan’s comments at a recent meeting with the chairman of the Parking Authority have generated a buzz around town from residents who charge he abuses his township parking pass privileges. The councilman claims his quotes were taken out of context in a recent newspaper article.##M:[more]##
Parking Authority chairman Andy Lupo appeared before council on February 19 and told them residents’ parking permits for the train station are such a hot commodity he believes some are being sold on a “black market.”
Lupo said the Parking Authority had hired three people to check that the permits match the cars for which they were issued, and Morgan offered another solution.
In a Trenton Times article, Morgan was quoted as saying he has a parking pass he doesn’t use and that fees for permit holders should be raised to prevent people like him from holding onto their $400-per-year permits.
“It is because of selfish, inconsiderate choices like his that there is an eight year waiting list for West Windsor residents to obtain a permit,” wrote Elizabeth Butler. “Morgan’s comment that they should raise the price to discourage people like him from keeping permits is repugnant. I’m sure the residents…appreciate his concern.”
Residents also wrote letters in Morgan’s defense. “Mr. Morgan got on a long waiting list when he applied for the permit, waited his turn for it, and has every right to use it whenever he needs it,” wrote Kathy Murray, wife of former West Windsor Mayor Robert Murray. “I know of no stipulation as to how often he must use it; nor do I think we need parking lot surveillance to keep track of how often people use their permits. I’m sure there are many permit holders who park there infrequently.”
Wrote Alan Vogel: “I would like to know if it is the platform of his team that is running for township council to raise the permit fees for West Windsor residents or if it is his view only. I can only assume that either he was misquoted or he was pulling our collective leg.”
Morgan says he wasn’t misquoted, but that his meaning was misrepresented. “It was taken out of context to say that I don’t use the permit. I don’t use it every day as a commuter, but I use it. The strange thing is that the first letter reacting to the article came out on a Wednesday, and I used it the following day when I went to Washington to meet with Congressman Rush Holt to discuss the need for solutions to the parking problem,” said Morgan, who is running for re-election to council in the municipal election this May.
“I do not stand for raising fees. I’m an advocate for keeping taxes and user fees down. I don’t have any ability to raise the fees, and I never said we should raise fees. I was saying that when you have a scarce commodity and a long line, the fees you’re charging are below what they should be. It’s simple economics, but it leads to a discussion most people won’t understand.”
Morgan says the only solution for the parking problem is to create more parking spaces. “Build parking garages, if that’s what the people want. I think we do need parking, and it should not look like a parking deck, and it could have retail at street level, but it needs to not bring more traffic to the center of Princeton Junction,” said Morgan.
Thomas J. Calu, the consultant hired by the township to work with the Hillier Group on solving the town’s parking problem, said the construction of new parking spaces costs between $17,”000 and $30,”000 per space, depending on the type of structure and the cost of the land on which it is located. Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said he expects the cost of new parking structures built as part of the town’s redevelopment to be shared between the township and New Jersey Transit.
Meanwhile, Diane Ciccone, a council candidate from Morgan’s rival slate, sent a letter to the editor offering another solution for the parking problem.
“Perhaps NJ Transit can run shuttle buses from our various neighborhoods or from central points in the township (Community Park or Mercer County Park) to the train station,” wrote Ciccone. “This would decrease the traffic congestion coming into our neighborhoods around the train station and provide a service for the residents of West Windsor to ease their daily hassle of trying to find parking or have a spouse drop them off to get to work every day until a plan to solve the parking issue is developed.”
Ciccone is running with Councilman Franc Gambatese and fellow planning board member Chuck Chang. Morgan is running with fellow councilman Will Anklowitz and George Borek. The election will be held Tuesday, May 8.
