If you’ve parked in Montclair long enough, you probably operate under one sacred assumption: after 7 p.m., the meter stops mattering. Montclair would now like a word.
At its May 19 meeting, the Township Council passed four ordinances overhauling how parking is priced and enforced across the suburb. The changes touch on-street meters, off-street decks, monthly permits and loading zones. Montclair parking rates are going up across the board for the first time in eight years, and the hours when you have to pay are expanding.
Here is what is all that’s changing and what it will cost.
Montclair Parking Rates Are Going Up. And So Are the Hours.
The base rate for on-street metered parking will increase from $1 to $1.50 per hour at all pay stations and single-space meters throughout town. That is a 50 percent jump.
But the rate is only part of the story. The enforcement window is shifting from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. If you are heading to dinner on Bloomfield Avenue, catching a show at the Wellmont or grabbing a late movie, prepare to pay the meter until 10 o’clock now.
In the downtown core, the rate goes higher still. Thursday through Saturday evenings, from 5 to 10 p.m., meters in what the township calls the Special Parking Zone will run $3 per hour. That is surge pricing, timed for the busiest blocks on the busiest nights. The zone covers the downtown Third Ward, including South Fullerton Avenue, Gates Avenue, Claremont Avenue, North Fullerton Avenue and Greenwood Avenue. The full boundary is defined here. The rationale, drawn from a parking management study the township commissioned from Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, is that higher on-street rates push long-term parkers into the decks and free up curb space for shorter visits.
The ordinance points toward the decks as the alternative. But using them is getting pricier too.
What Permit Holders and Deck Parkers Will Pay
Off-street hourly parking in the municipal decks and surface lots will go from $0.75 to $1 per hour.
For monthly permit holders, the hikes vary by location:
- Non-commuter surface lots, meaning township parking areas not tied to train station commuting, are now $60 a month.
- Commuter lots near the train go to $70.
- Bay Street Deck, next to the NJ Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues, rises to $125 a month for 24-hour access, up from $100.
- Crescent Deck and Midtown Deck go to $140.
One new option at Bay Street may appeal to residents who mostly park at night or on weekends. The township is introducing an overnight-only permit for $65 a month, valid weekdays from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. plus all day Saturday and Sunday. Unlike the existing commuter permits, this option is designed for people who do not need daytime weekday parking but still want regular garage access at a lower monthly cost.
If you hold a monthly permit at any of these locations, check your next statement.
Loading Zones Now Run Seven Days a Week
This one matters most for businesses, but residents should be aware as well .
Commercial loading zones in Montclair were previously enforced Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Now, under the new ordinance, enforcement runs Sunday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., every day of the week, four hours later into the evening.
For businesses, the stakes are specific. A restaurant receiving a delivery on a Saturday night at 8 p.m. is now operating inside active loading zone hours, not after them. The time limit tightens from 30 to 20 minutes, and authorized vehicles must display hazard lights while using the zone.
One welcome change for one neighborhood: the north side of Warman Street was added to the list of streets where overnight parking is permitted between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., following an engineering study.
One Ordinance That Didn’t Pass: Valet Parking
The same night the council approved these four changes, a fifth ordinance failed in a 3-3 tie.
The proposed valet parking ordinance, sponsored by Councilor Rahum Williams and Deputy Mayor Susan Shin Andersen, would have created a licensing framework for commercial valet operations in Montclair’s commercial zones. It did not pass on the first introduction.
The debate reflects a live tension in town, particularly along restaurant corridors like Church Street, where valet operations at Fresco de Franco, an Italian restaurant, already occupy curb space with no formal regulatory structure. That conversation is likely to continue.
What to Do Before the New Rates Hit
Don’t wait for a ticket to update your habits. If you park downtown on weekday evenings or Saturday nights, check whether your block falls in a metered zone and plan to pay through 10 p.m. Heading out Thursday through Saturday after 5 p.m. near the downtown Third Ward means $3 an hour at the meter. Monthly permit holders should confirm their new rate now.
The full text of every ordinance is in the official council minutes from the May 19 meeting.
