TOMS RIVER, NJ – It’s bad enough that the Toms River Parking Authority is broke financially and runs each year at a huge loss to taxpayers, but the new system is nothing short of garbage.
This week was the first time I had to park on a public street in downtown Toms River and it was pretty frustrating.
First, the meter itself was dirty and disgusting. The screen could barely be viewed as it was full of scratches and condensation. It was virtually impossible to use the meter using the on-screen prompts, I tried two different ones with the same results.
So, then I noticed the town uses M2Pay, so I scanned the QR code on the meters, which also gave an error. I went into the M2Pa app, which is used by many towns in New Jersey, and the app couldn’t find the parking spot number. I entered it manually, and it couldn’t find the space.
So I broke down and just stuck my credit card in the slot. Without any prompts or verification or authorization, it processed a payment for three hours. I had no choice. It just automatically charged my card and put three hours on.
The parking authority in Toms River, according to many, is just a cash cow for the township. That’s completely not even true. It loses money for the township each year, but it keeps a couple of friends and family members gainfully employed.
If Toms River was serious about bringing people into its downtown area, it should abolish its parking authority and remove the parking meters. They are costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and they do nothing but frustrate visitors to the area.
The authority has been operating at a deficit for years now, forcing the taxpayers of Toms River to subsidize further the agency, which is nothing more than a local patronage pit for politicians to award jobs to friends and family. Nevermind the simple fact that it operates each year in the red.
The good news is, WOBM claims there’s a way to get 20 minutes of free parking.