Ridgewood Parking Meters 'Designed in Hell'?

It's no secret many of Ridgewood's shoppers and commuters detest the parking meters in town. But did you know the meters in the lots were "designed in hell"?

According to an angry commuter who wrote to The Record's Road Warrior Columnist John Cichowski, "no one" carries around 24 quarters anymore for the 12 hour period. Plus, on rainy days the glass face of the meter fogs so you can't read the time left, he angrily said. "It's an abomination," the Ho-Ho-Kus man said of the meters purportedly "designed in hell."

The train station lot has a bill changer and you can also pay with cash at the Chestnut Street lot. (If it happens to work that day and if there's an open spot – that is.)

There are other options like using $1 coins at the meters (buffalo nickels still don't work, sadly) or shelling out the $650 per year on the UP3 parking pass (only valid at the parking lots, not on-street spots).

Still, those responses aren't likely to satisfy a lot of peeved people.

How about some other options?

Montclair, which also has a well-documented parking issue, allows residents to pay for spots using their cell phone.

There's a 25-cent convenience fee attached for using the Parkmobile ap, which works on Blackberry, Android and iPhones. Basically, you download the ap, create a username and add a credit card. From your cell phone you can set the amount of time, receive alerts when the time is up and also pay for more time remotely.

The village could also consider installing more of the parking meter machines like the one at the Chestnut Street lot.

The village council hasn't really had much in the way of discussions on the meters – though they talk quite a bit about parking and parking garages – but lets throw it out to the residents anyway. 

Do you like the meters as they are? Would you prefer to see something different for method of payment? If so, what would you like to see?

Comment below with your ideas.

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor James Kleimann at James.Kleimann@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox every morning, sign up for our daily newsletter.