Motorcycle Parking In the Village Of Port Jeff

OFF THE WIRE
The Original Motorcycle Parking Arrangement Worked Well!

Motorcycles and motorcycle parking are controversial issues in Port Jeff. As the merchants and employees of PJ know, motorcyclists have been coming to Port Jeff and spending their money for years. Back in the early 90's the Village of Port Jeff and the Town of Brookhaven came up with a unique parking solutions for all the motorcycles coming to town. Realizing that motorcycles need a lot less room to park than cars, the Brookhaven parking lot set aside an area (across from Chandler Square) for the motorcycles to legally park for free. It was an instant success instead of bikes taking up valuable free parking space in town they tended to park in the Brookhaven lot when they came into town. It was a win win situation for the Village and the bikers. There was no need for the police to patrol. The Bikers never caused problems. In a space where 7 cars now park as many as 50 bikes could legally park. This parking solution worked! In the course of a day busy day, hundreds of bikes would park legally and all in the space where 7 cars currently park.

A few years ago various civic leaders from the village decided to change the motorcycle parking arrangement. It had work well for years but they persuaded Brookhaven to move the motorcycles from the original area to another area in the lot and to start charging non residents bikers to Pay. Moving the Bikers from the original parking area across from Chandler Square and charging a fee was not Popular. According to Brookhaven records, in Sept of 2006 less than 30 Motorcycles parked in the Brookhaven Lot. Bikers voted with their feet and decided to legally park in other free spaces on the street. It's time to return to the original motorcycle parking arrangement. It worked and it worked well for many years!

Motorcyclist and their passengers are good for business in town. They frequent our shops and eat in our restaurants. Motorcyclist don't cause problems when they are in town. Instead of chasing bikers from Port Jeff, the Village & Brookhaven should encourage bikers to visit the village and return to the original motorcycle parking arrangement. It's time to get the bikers back in the Brookhaven lot and free up more spaces for other visitors who drive their cars!