This document outlines parking reform recommendations for downtown Jersey City put forth by Councilwoman Candice Osborne. The goals are to increase parking capacity, improve regulations understanding, increase resident convenience, and enhance public safety. Recommendations include updating zone parking hours, allowing parking in adjacent zones, increasing non-resident fees, replacing underused monthly permits with meters, reducing street sweeping, designating food truck areas, simplifying signs and regulations, enabling online temporary passes, replacing reserved spots with smart meters, curb painting, and targeted enforcement. The recommendations are intended as a starting point for discussion with city departments.

1. Downtown Jersey City
Parking Recommendations
COUNCILWOMAN CANDICE OSBORNE

2. Parking Reform Goals
Increase parking capacity on the street for residents & retail businesses
Increase the understanding of regulations
Increase convenience for residents
Reduce public safety issues related to parking

3. Increase parking capacity
Parking reform
should focus on:
• Residents without
parking options
• Local retail
businesses

4. Update downtown zone parking to end at 11 p.m. &
extend grace window to 3 hours
Current
(10am – 3pm)
Proposed
(10am – 8pm)
Actual Enforcement Hours Why?
Capacity issues worsen at night when
non-permitted residents park on city
streets after enforcement hours.
Increase in zone hours likely to result
in increased use of parking garages.
(10am – 3pm)
Current

5. Allow Adjacent Zone Parking
Residents allowed to park in 2
zones in their standard permit.
◦ the zone they are in, and;
◦ the closest neighboring zone

6. Increase Non-Resident parking fee to
market rate
 Anyone can purchase on street parking permits for
less than $1 a day
 Non-residents use 8.1% of 15,029 total work permits
given in a year
Increase fees to market rate ($150/month). This will
encourage non-residents who work in Jersey City to
use parking garages or public transportation, reducing
traffic on our streets
*FIGURES PROVIDED BY JERSEY CITY PARKING AUTHORITY
NUMBERS BASED ON PERIOD FROM JUNE 2013 TO JUNE 2014

7. Monthly permit parking areas often remain
unfilled
Replace with
metered
parking or
return to
neighborhood
zone parking

8. Pilot reduced street sweeping (2 days per week
vs. 4 days per week)
Can be revenue neutral and a
better allocation of city staff:
Parking staff can
◦ Spend additional time ticketing
illegal infractions vs. ticketing
people who don’t move for
street sweeping
JCIA staff can
◦ Spend additional time emptying
public trash cans

9. Create dedicated food truck parking area
Focus on high traffic areas without
sufficient food options. A Starting
Place: Exchange Place On The
Waterfront. Areas to consider:
◦ End of York (east of Hudson)
◦ End of Grand (east of Hudson)
◦ Far right east bound lane of
Montgomery between Exchange
Place and Greene Street

10. Make regulations easy to know and
understand

11. New parking signs
Redesign the parking signs for clarity instead of confusion.

12. Regulation Understanding
◦ Require apartment
buildings with parking
to obtain signature
from residents stating
that they understand
street parking is not
available to them if
they move into the
building (punishable to
the building owner
with a substantial fine)
Apartment Parking Awareness Form
This form recognizes that any resident living in an apartment building with
available parking (free or at cost) is ineligible for a zoned parking permit.
The resident and building owner must both be fully aware of this
condition prior to moving in. Any building owner that does not disclose
this information is subject to a substantial fine by the City of Jersey City.
The signing of this form results in compliance by both resident (s) and
building owner to the guidelines put forth by the City of Jersey City.
_____________________________
Resident Signature
_____________________________
Building Owner Signature

13. Emergency No Parking Reform
Not everything is an emergency!
New category of “Scheduled No Parking” for things such as:
◦ Sidewalk repairs
◦ Moving
Scheduled No Parking should be posted a minimum of 6 days in advance

14. Increase convenience for residents

15. Temporary Pass Reform
Ability to purchase
passes online and at
City Hall
 Ability to print passes
 Passes valid only for
specific dates

16. Replace reserved parking with smart
meters
Will allow for dynamic, demand driven pricing.
Start in business districts

17. Public safety

18. Paint curbs red at key visibility areas
1 way road approaching a 2 way
road
• 1 way road approaching a 1
way road

19. Enforcement Issues
Key intersection enforcement by PD
◦ Use incident data
Construction enforcement by PD – training off duty officers to help with
compliance

20. Pilot Painted Bump Out at Needed Intersections
Pilot 1
intersections in
each
neighborhood
downtown
(looking for
suggestions!)

21. Disclaimer
These recommendations are intended as a starting point.
Some changes to recommendations are expected as the Ward E
council office works through the implementation details with
the various city departments.