N.J. Town Considering Radical Plan To Improve Parking

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Bergen County town is considering limiting when businesses can receive deliveries.

But what is best for business? As CBS2's Meg Baker found out Monday, it depends on who you ask.

Trying to find a parking spot in downtown Ridgewood can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Parking is the favorite topic in the downtown ... We have 104 restaurants. We have a lot of retailers," Ridgewood Mayor Ramon Hache said.

The mayor said some businesses complain delivery trucks are getting in the way of customers. The solution could be to limit delivery hours.

"They were concerned that these delivery trucks were posing potentially a safety hazard. Some of them were double parked. Some of them would take up a lot of space or take up several parking spaces. Some deliveries taking up to three-four hours," Hache said.

MORE: Ridgewood Eyes Valet Lots To Ease Downtown Parking Problems

One idea floating around is to force trucks to deliver overnight -- from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. -- when most stores are closed.

But some business owners CBS2's Baker spoke with said the idea is bad for business.

"That would definitely put a big problem on us because we would have no one here before 10 o'clock in the morning," said John Halligan, owner of the Park West Tavern. "We are open until about 12-1 o'clock in the morning, so to have employees now get here at 8 o'clock in the morning is just added cost. It's just not feasible for us to bring in people just for those deliveries."

The manager of the daily treat restaurant said he receives most of his shipments after lunch.

"They can come like let's say 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock. Those are slow times, so they can park over there," the manager said.

Others like a nearby cupcake shop said they just use smaller vans for deliveries, so it's not an issue.

"There were things that were thrown around, but there's nothing on table now as to the hours," Mayor Hache said.

The Central Business District Advisory Committee is reaching out to every shop and restaurant owner for suggestions. The mayor said if a restricted schedule doesn't work, it doesn't work.

Ridgewood is building a new parking garage with 255 spaces. It added 36 spaces at the train station and reconfigured other lots and also designated spots for employees to help ease the parking headache.