To the Editor,
Parking meters?
The borough stands to realize a windfall gain of millions of dollars through the American Recovery Plan (ARP) and the most imaginative application of these funds that it can conceive of is new parking meters? Maybe I’m out of touch, but who wants new parking meters? Surely there’s a more useful way that these funds could be applied.
The borough, and we as its citizens, missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when we failed to acquire the Bancroft property. Instead of open space or parkland, we have stared for years at the eyesore of a vacant property with huge potential.
We’ve been told that the townhouse plan is a done deal, but so long as ground has not been broken, there is still hope. Perhaps the borough could find creative ways to use the ARP funds to purchase even a slice of the property for open space. One square meter of space would be worth more than a hundred parking meters.
Given the pressing threat of climate change, perhaps we could use the ARP funds to help mitigate its effects: for example, by planting trees, investing in renewable infrastructure or public transportation, or improving insulation in borough buildings.
I realize that there are constraints to how these funds can be spent, but in the face of the existential crisis of climate change I know we can do better than parking meters.
Sincerely,
Bryan Gallagher
Haddonfield, N.J.
