During last night’s meeting of Ambler’s Borough Council there was a discussion on raising the cost of parking at meters and the eliminating the free parking promotion in December.

Frank DeRuosi (Ward 3) started the discussion by stating that he believed that people wouldn’t mind paying more and hoped the additional funds would be put towards Parks & Recreation.

There was then a more general discussion on upgrading to new meters and kiosks that allow for payment via credit cards and offer other modern features.

Also discussed were concerns that the free parking promotion during December just leads to business owners and employees parking in spots for longer periods of time and in the more prime spots in the downtown area.

During public comment, Bernadette Dougherty suggested that if the Borough does change the cost of parking it be done uniformly and all at once. She also suggested doing away with the free parking from noon to 2:00 p.m. as it was started as a promotion to bring business into Ambler when Ambler was struggling, and Ambler is no longer struggling.

Nothing was acted on during the meeting and there didn’t seem to be any urgency to act on it in the near future.