As a Baldwin town resident, I have absolutely no intention of purchasing a parking permit to park far away from the Long Island Railroad station. This is nothing more than a back-door tax increase that will do absolutely nothing to improve parking conditions. If the town board had a sensible plan to build a five- or six-story parking garage to increase the number of convenient spaces close to the station, I would not only be happy to purchase a permit, but I would be happy to pay daily fees to park there. When I have to walk almost ten minutes from the far reaches of Siberia to get to the station, I may as well walk all the way from home, which is only a little more than twenty minutes away. By 7:30 AM all the decent spaces are always taken and will continue to be taken even after this ill-advised program is under way. Purchasing a permit does not even guarantee that I get a space at all, much less a decent space.
The notion that the lots are full of non-residents is ludicrous. Where are they coming from? Has the Town Board run license plate checks to generate some hard data to support this absurd premise? They certainly aren't going to come from the west, because no one will drive east to then head west. They won't come from the east or the north because the parking isn't all that great. They obviously aren't going to come from the south unless they are mussels or clams.
As it turns out, a vacant lot sits in a convenient location directly across the street from the railroad station. Combined with an enclosed pedestrian overpass across Sunrise Highway, leading directly to the railroad platform, a parking garage here would be worth its weight in gold. Does anyone think sensibly like that? I would gladly pay for that sort of sensible, forward thinking. What sensible person would pay to park almost in Freeport or Rockville Centre? Even a garage on the existing town lot directly north of the station without a pedestrian overpass would be a huge improvement worth $5 or $6 a day. I'd even rather park in Mineola for that price, but the MTA-owned garage there has become so popular that it is often full by 8:30 AM.
I'll have my father drop me off at the station, or I'll walk, or I'll park at my office in Carle Place, which has plenty of free, private parking close to the Carle Place station. I will not pay for services that are not worth fees that until now have been included in already high town taxes. Don't expect me to be purchasing a useless parking permit until I see a plan for a parking garage.