New Meters, More City of Newburgh Headaches

NEWBURGH – The City of Newburgh announced last Wednesday that the upgrade and expansion of municipal parking meters and the launch of its first mobile payment option for parking powered by Passport, was scheduled for Monday, August 8.

On Friday, the City of Newburgh Department of Public Works could be seen removing 718 outdated parking meters throughout the city. For several weeks, crews could be seen installing approximately 75 new cashless parking meters. The city has also expanded the on-street meter program to include the Waterfront area and commercial areas adjacent to Broadway, much to the disdain of local business owners.

The upgrade and expansion of the parking meter program was done, according to the city, based on the results of a comprehensive Parking Meter Enhancement Study and Downtown and Riverfront Parking Meter Expansion Feasibility Study conducted in 2020.

On Friday, the City of Newburgh Department of Public Works could be seen removing 718 outdated parking meters throughout the city.
On Friday, the City of Newburgh Department of Public Works could be seen removing 718 outdated parking meters throughout the city.

All impacted areas will have signage and set parking costs. The existing parking meters on Broadway have been replaced and paid parking will now include Front Street, Liberty Street, Prospect Street and Grand Street with enforcement Monday through Saturday (free parking on Sunday). The hours of parking enforcement are from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. in the waterfront area and from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for all other areas.

Through Passport’s mobile parking application, motorists will have the ability to pay for and manage parking sessions from their smartphones, as an alternative to using quarters, as the new machines will not accept money. The city states, “With a mobile pay option now available, the City of Newburgh can support its merchants and drivers through a seamless and digital parking experience. Business can purchase time for their customers through the merchant validation program via the Passport app.”

Of note, there is a fifteen cents transaction fee charged for placing funds on the app. The fee also applies to each transaction at the pay station when using a credit card (not the app). According to the city, debit cards can be purchased at city hall in $10 increments and will not incur the per transaction fee. However, those cards are back ordered and the one’s currently being issued will incur the transaction fee.

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