April 13, 2006 Issue                                               

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Motorists arriving in Chestnut Hill have plenty of options
by Kristin Pazulski

Chestnut Hill offers many options for parking, from its nine lots to no limit, metered and permit parking along the streets. Yet employees, residents and business owners are still finding fault. (Illustration by Kristin Pazulski)

Chestnut Hill is a sought-after destination for shopping, living, working and visiting, a positive in almost every aspect. But one aspect has continually been a problem and a nuisance for all —parking.

Chestnut Hill has nine parking lots from the top of the Hill to Southampton Avenue — eight that are open at the moment —offering 485 spots to the public, free to shoppers. The parking system revolves around the Parking Foundation’s sticker system, in which merchants provide paying customers with stickers for their parking card, allowing them to pass through a lot’s exit for free. Without the stickers, parkers could pay $17 for a full, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. stay in the lot; the first hour costs $3, with each subsequent half-hour $1.

Monthly parking is also available, at $90.

Businesses may purchase rolls of 100 stickers at the foundation Chestnut Hill Business Association, 8426 Germantown Ave., to distribute to customers. A roll is $90 for association members and $220 for non-members. (A membership to the association starts at $55 per month and varies depending on the type of business.) Each stickers is good for 30 minutes of parking, so for an hour you’d have to make purchases at two stores and request a sticker at each.

Some businesses, such as Cingular Wireless at 8504 Germantown Ave., opt out of buying stickers, but their customers can visit another store, make a purchase, and receive a sticker because most of the businesses along the Avenue offer them.

Business owners told the Local that they spend from $300 to a $4,500, depending on their customer flow, though most seem to spend in the $300 to $700 range.

Most businesses require a purchase or that the customer spends a minimum amount to receive a sticker. Or, customers may pay businesses 50 cents for a sticker, much cheaper than the hourly costs. Cosimo’s Pizza Café, at 8624 Germantown Ave., has a minimal purchase of $5; Bone Appetit K9 Bakery Inc., at 8505 Germantown Ave., requires a minimum purchase of $10, and the Chestnut Hill Bootery, 8511 Germantown Ave., has a sign that reads: “Due to the rising costs of parking stickers, stickers are limited to purchases only. Thank you.”

However, Artisans on the Avenue, at 8440 Germantown Ave., does not require a purchase or charge for a sticker. “We want them to come and shop here. It’s hard to make them pay for parking,” said Artisans’ co-owner Lisa Howe, who spends about $500 on stickers annually.

The income from the stickers goes toward lighting, salaries for the parking lot attendants, insurance and the upkeep of the lots. The annual budget for the Parking Foundation was $320,000 this year, and about $250,000 comes directly from parkers, including monthly parkers, who pay $90 per month. Sticker sales bring in the most income.

The Chestnut Hill Business District was given a $25,000 grant from Sen. LeAnna Washington in November to reimburse the cost of a study on Chestnut Hill’s parking, conducted by Carl Walker Inc. of Philadelphia. The study suggested changing from the sticker system to a system that would require businesses to pay a fee based on each business’ “historic use of tickets,” the Local reported March 17, 2005.

But the chairman of the Parking Foundation, Paul Roller, said his organization did not plan to change the system soon, adding that the research was not conducted on the busiest times for the parking/shopping season and so could not be directly applied. However, the study does give the foundation a reference point and proof of action, which helps when applying for grants.

Foundation members also plan to provide more visible signage for the lots, as the study suggested. Although aesthetically pleasing, in the back of the business strips, the lots can be difficult to find via the small green and white “Parking” signs. Roller said the problem should be solved with the planned streetscape project for Germantown Avenue, though when that solution will arrive is unclear. The Chestnut Hill Business Association has a five-year estimate for the streetscape’s implementation.

Each lot has an attendant present from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. most weekdays and Saturdays, though the lots are accessible beyond those hours. Roller said the change to a 24-hour automated system is not out of the question for the future, as they are constantly monitoring their lots and looking for ways to improve the lots. Roller said the number of spaces serve shoppers well at the moment, and lots are full usually only on nice weekends and during the holiday shopping season. He said that with the rise in Internet shopping and banking, fewer people are parking each year.

Also, in December 2005 the Parking Foundation was promised a $250,000 grant by Congressman Chaka Fattah’s office to improve the security, lighting, huts and signage, and possibly paving. The Foundation also receives about $20,000 from the Chestnut Hill Business District for improvements to the lots.

Howe, of Artisans on the Avenue, said the biggest problem is with people from out of town who do not understand the system. Many visitors are unaware of the sticker system and assume they have either pay for parking or find metered parking.

But shoppers aren’t the only ones experiencing parking problems and confusion. At the March 21 meeting of the Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Development and Review Committee, a proposal for a new restaurant spotlighted a struggle between residents and local employees. Eileen Reynolds, a resident in the first block of East Evergreen Avenue, expressed concern that the restaurant would add to the already difficult task of finding parking along her non-metered street.

“I really want a vibrant business community, but residential parking suffers at the expense of employees, rather than the shoppers along the Avenue,” Reynolds said. She said employees of Osaka Japanese Restaurant, 8605 Germantown Ave., park along her street during the first and second shift, leaving cars there most the day.

Reynolds is applying to the Philadelphia Parking Authority for permit-restricted parking along her street. A permit would cost neighbors $35 in the first year, then $20 annually. A number of blocks just off the Avenue are metered, including the blocks adjacent to Germantown Avenue on Gravers Lane and Highland Avenue. Others are marked for limited parking by those other than residents with permits.

Harrison Kin of Osaka said the restaurant’s shifts run from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. or midnight, and consist of 13 or 14 employees. He said employees are encouraged not to park in the foundation lot behind the restaurant, to leave it open to customers, and are directed to the train station lot on West Evergreen Avenue or residential streets.

Businesses along the Avenue offer varied suggestions to their employees, some encouraging use of foundation lots, some street parking. Wachovia Bank, 8527 Germantown Ave., purchases three or four foundation spots, which are awarded to employees based on seniority. Pamela Maria Reid, an employee at the bank, said she used to park on the street, but now uses public transportation.

Bank of America, at 8601 Germantown Ave., provides stickers to their driving employees.

Workers at businesses with later shifts said parking for them isn’t a problem during the slower season because they park in the lots and leave after the attendants’ shifts are complete. Roller said the Foundation is aware of this “constant battle” with the local employees and finds the only solution so far to be the 24-hour automated system.

Not everyone is dissatisfied with the parking situation. Dawn Ross of the Chestnut Hill Coffee Co., 8620 Germantown Ave., drives to work, and said that parking locally “is not a pain, it could be worse but it could be better.” Also, many employees use public transportation as an easier alternative.

Roller said that about three years ago, the foundation offered spots in Lot No. 7, which was underused, to businesses at $40 per month, compared with the current cost of $90 per month, but no businesses were interested.