Lindenhurst raises parking meter rate, extends hours

Lindenhurst Village is making several changes to its public parking, including  increasing the meter rate and extending hours as well as adding signage and employee-only spots.

Beginning June 1, metered parking in the downtown will go from 25 cents for two hours to 25 cents an hour, and meters will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., rather than stopping at 6 p.m.

Lindenhurst trustee RJ Renna said the changes are in response to an increase in outside visitors to the downtown, which the village has been trying to revitalize. He said the meter rates had been lower than neighboring communities and the village found many people would not use spots for the full two hours.

“By charging 25 cents an hour it’s not going to impact the people who are just running into a store and put 25 cents into the meter anyway,” Renna said.

With an influx of restaurants and breweries to the downtown, the busiest times are now from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., necessitating the extension of meter hours, he said.

Spots under the Long Island Rail Road tracks on West Hoffman Avenue will now have a four-hour limit from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and several spaces will be designated for veterans and expectant parents.

In addition, this summer the village will begin a pilot program for employee parking, with designated spots for which employers will have to buy passes. There are 120 spots eligible, Renna said.

A survey conducted in 2019 by Babylon-based Greenman-Pedersen Inc. found that 85% of residents want more parking. But the company found the village’s more than 1,200 parking spots were sufficient and underutilized.

In 2018 Lindenhurst spent nearly $1 million to create a 25-spot lot on East Hoffman Avenue and in 2020 spent more than $500,000 to purchase a property on South High Street to create another lot. That development has been put on hold due to a lack of funds, Renna said.

The village last year signed a contract for up to $8,500 with Level G Associates of Old Bethpage to conduct a parking evaluation. Among the recommendations are naming the village’s eight municipal lots and creating signs to direct patrons to them, Renna said. The village board this month approved spending $11,500 for the signs, which will be installed in the coming weeks.

“We need to provide an environment that people know the businesses are here and have the ease of parking in the downtown without the headache,” Renna said.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.