STONE HARBOR – The Borough Council is not hearing the same outpouring of concern that characterized last summer’s introduction of the ParkMobile app for paying for parking. Even though the number of tickets issued in June was still substantially higher than in 2022, the year prior to the introduction of the app, the issue has not generated much public discussion at council meetings.

Police Chief Thomas Schutta announced at the July 16 council meeting that 771 parking tickets were issued last month. In June 2022 the borough issued 48 tickets. That number soared to 843 last year with the coming of ParkMobile.

This May the borough issued 289 tickets, compared to 564 last May. Both numbers were significantly higher than the 33 parking tickets issued in May 2022.

The two-month total this year stands at 1,060, down from 1,407 over the same period last year but still far higher than the two-month total for May and June 2022, when 81 tickets were issued.

But business owners and officials of the chamber of commerce are not using council meetings as the forum to urge action on alternatives, as they did last year.

In council discussions, much of last year’s experience was blamed on the rollout of the ParkMobile app and confusion on the part of visitors and residents about where they could park and how they paid for parking. There were also problems with individuals who did not own smartphones or did not know how to load and use the app.

The expectation expressed by council members as the 2024 season approached was that familiarity with the app would reduce the number of tickets issued. The borough also provided better striping and signage as an aid in identifying areas where payment is required.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.