Photo: ’15 min. for $2.20′ at the new parking meters next to the Wawa in Princeton

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Wawa customers who want to park at the short-term parking spaces next to the Dinky Station in Princeton are puzzled by the new parking meters that were installed by the municipality. The meters list an hourly rate of $2.20, yet have a 15-minute time limit, and display a fee of $2.20 for just 15 minutes. The meters near the Wawa are just one example of the issues users are having with the new parking meter system in Princeton. Readers report that the meters sometimes don’t work, or are easily jammed if coins are used. The minimum credit card fee is $1, and the Park Princeton app charged a 35-cent transaction fee each time it is used. Photos submitted by reader Joe L.

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.

12 Comments

  1. Aren’t you allowed to park there for 15 minutes without paying the meter if you’re going into Wawa anyways?

    1. No. At both the old location and the new location you had to put money in the meters. Sign also says the meters are for Wawa customers only.

  2. It’s really sad that the Town Council is hurting local businesses with these new parking meters. It’s now much cheaper for me to pay shipping online than to try to buy local in downtown princeton. Luckily the Princeton shopping center still has free parking. I can’t imagine why the Town Council felt the need to raise parking fees when the downtown businesses are in the worst state they’ve been in the last 20 years.

    1. Agree that we have to consider alternatives because the parking fees are so high & time limits so low in town. There are NJ towns spreading good cheer with welcoming vibes & free parking every day of December.

  3. It turns out it was just one meter that was mis-programmed. It should have said rate for 15 min = $.55 (which is $2.20/hour).

  4. “Hometown” & “Convenience Fee” are next to “Jumbo Shrimp” & “Civil War” on our Oxymoron List this month. It’s telling that Princeton’s leaders delivered excessive fees, tiny time limits, & more parking restrictions in a season when people-friendly towns turn off meters & post “Happy Holidays” greetings. We thought Princeton wouldn’t consume its residents with injustices & deal with those who take unfair advantage, but the Cranbury CSA, convenience fees for card use, and other agreements that are unfair to townsfolk are a matter of record now.

  5. I’m amazed that this isn’t causing more of an uproar. The complete disregard of the City Council for the residence and the local merchants is galling. If I was Wawa Corporate, I’d close up shop and add one more empty store front to the Princeton “lack of” business community.

    1. yea…once upon a time there were no parking & convenience fees to go to a convenience store… and no convenience fees to use cards in meters…and no 24/7 parking fee zones.

  6. I am shocked you have to pay to park at the Princeton Wawa just to get a sandwich. They should make the first 15 minutes free. I will no longer be coming here to get my lunch.

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