WEST CHESTER >> Starting today, parking garages in the borough will have automated gates working 24 hours of a day, seven days of the week.
“We’re going to an automated system, which means instead of patrons paying a cashier, they will be paying a machine,” said Pam Grossman, director of parking for the borough. “That helps us in terms of being able to close the gates 24 hours a day. From my standpoint, it makes it easy for us to audit the garages.”
After a 7-0 vote of council on July 15, it was decided to make the gates work at all times to prevent people from taking advantage of free parking all day on Sundays.
“The problem with the borough garages is that people can go in, take a ticket Tuesday, drive out Sunday and you have a lot of free time off,” Councilman Bill Scott said after the meeting. “Therefore, I’m on the Parking Committee and it was my idea to continue the free parking (in lots), but charge in the garages. I wasn’t (in favor) if there were that many people that used the garages.”
Read more: Automated gates in borough garages in effect Monday