By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
There soon could be fewer cars circling downtown Red Bank in search of parking spots if the borough council gives the green light to a proposal by Red Bank RiverCenter Wednesday night.
The business promotion agency, in an effort to pull in more visitors, hopes to try valet parking on a trial basis.
“It’ll benefit anybody whose customer doesn’t want to drive around or park themselves,” RiverCenter Executive Director Nancy Adams said.
Motorists who covet the six spaces on Broad Street that will be dedicated to the valet service might have a different take, however.
If the resolution is approved, the agency has a parking service lined up to station podiums on the east side of Broad Street, from Mechanic Street north to the next fire hydrant on Friday and Saturday nights. For $10, its employees will park a customer’s car in a municipal lot on Mechanic, Adams said.
Mechanic is a one-way from the east toward Broad, meaning a ride around the block to Globe Court for the valet.
The service would run from about 5 or 6 p.m. until early the next morning, she said.
RiverCenter will place signs advertising the service on Broad Street and in the White Street municipal lot, which often can become a merry-go-round of visitors hunting for an open spot.
Customers “can pull up and go anywhere in town and not have to worry about finding a parking spot,” Adams said. “It’ll benefit all the businesses in the district.”
Adams said the service, if approved by the council, could go into effect as soon as July 22, and would run as a three-month trial. If it’s popular and well-received, it could become a fixture in town, she said.
“Maybe it’s just for the summer months or just the winter months,” Adams said. “At least it’s something different that the downtown district is offering to its customers.”
The council meets at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow. Here’s a PDF file of the draft agenda to download: 7-13-11agenda
