Glen Rock Ditches Parking Meters for Mobile App

Beginning Monday, April 1, the metric parking meters and kiosks at the Main Line and Borough Hall train stations in Glen Rock will be gone.

Instead, commuters will pay for their commuter parking spots with a town-issued parking pass, or with smart phone application Parkmobile. (If you don't have a smart phone or commuter pass, you can call a 1-800 number to make a transaction by credit/debit card.)

Glen Rock began phasing in Parkmobile in 2012 to provide more options to commuters, eliminating the need for oft-broken meters. There are no scheduled changes to the municipal parking fees.

The move to mobile is primarily for non-resident commuters, according to officials.

"The Parkmobile system is for non-resident daily commuter parkers at the Borough Hall and Main Line stations, and for the $1/day occasional resident parker at Main Line," Borough Administrator Lenora Benjamin said. "We offer a monthly pass to non-residents for $100/month, and can be obtained through the mail or at the clerk's office during business hours."

Here's how Parkmobile works:

Download the mobile application for Apple or Android-enabled devices, choose a parking space, enter the meter's ID number and how long you'll be there. You pay the standard parking fee, plus a 35 cent "convenience" fee to Parkmobile. Customers receive text messages and e-mails detailing the transaction, including an a reminder 15 minutes before the meter expires. You can add more time to the meter if need be. 

Benjamin said there's been "minimal" response to Parkmobile thus far, telling Patch that half of commuters pay by the day, and the other half by parking pass.

The borough has not analyzed if there's been an increase in revenue since Parkmobile was introduced, Benjamin said. Either way, it's no loss – Parkmobile costs the borough nothing.

Benjamin said the parking enforcement officer will have access to the Parkmobile information on a computer at the police station to nab violators.