New to Huntington Village: Valet Parking

A new valet parking program launched Friday in Huntington Village.

Town’s vendor, LAZ New York/New Jersey, are set up at the specially-marked tent that serves at the valets’ headquarters in the Town of Huntington municipal lot between New and Green Streets.

Under the program, the free valet parking will be in effect from 9 a.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday and again from 9 a.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday in a portion of lot. The programs allows for flexibility to expand the valet area and the hours, if demand warrants.

Town officials say the pilot program is the latest in a series of measures aimed at improving parking in Huntington Village. It is being funded by the consortium Town Supervisor Frank Petrone formed to explore village parking options. The consortium includes the town, the Town of Huntington Economic Development Corp., the Huntington Village Business Improvement District, the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce and the Paramount Theater.

Experts have told the consortium that valet parking could increase the capacity of the lot, which currently has 215 spaces, by as much as 40 percent, according to the the town.

Other recent measures have included activating multi-space parking pay stations on Main Street and New York Avenue; changing the hours for which metered parking is active, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday-Saturday; designating a primary and secondary metered parking zone, with different per-hour parking rates; and increasing to three hours in the maximum a vehicle can remain parked at a spot.

The town has prepared a brochure, available at participating merchants in the village and on the town’s website, which includes a summary of the changes, directions on using the multi-space meters and a map of municipal parking lots in the village. A contract is also being finalized with Parkmobile USA to offer a smartphone app to pay for the metered parking.

Beginning this weekend, the town’s volunteer “parking ambassadors” will maintain a presence in the village and hand out the parking brochure and offer assistance to those wanting to learn how to use the multi-space meters. These volunteers are easily identified by their safety green shirts with the town’s logo on the front and the words “Parking Ambassador” on the back.