Willowbrook Mall now charging for 'premium parking'
The mall recently added paid parking to 119 spaces.
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If you go to the beach or a concert or a sporting event, you may expect to pay to park closer to your destination. But what about a mall?
Even on a rainy Monday, the premium paid parking spots at Willowbrook Mall in Wayne are mostly empty. That's because parking here now costs a few dollars an hour and so far, shoppers aren't buying it.
“I would probably just choose to park in a different spot. I come here to spend a lot of money anyways. I don't want to spend more money on a parking spot. We're college students, so we're here to spend the little money that we have,” said twin sisters Chloe and Olivia Brijbag, of West Milford.
The mall recently added paid parking to 119 spaces. While plenty of free parking remains, some shoppers said they were surprised to see these spots sitting empty.
Mall officials say the spaces are designed for shoppers making quick trips, but some locals say there's nothing convenient about nickel and diming hard-working Americans.
“Absolutely ridiculous. We're in a mall to go park to spend money in their mall and their establishments and they're charging us to park. Like I said, they'll charge for oxygen. They really will,” said Daniel Milligan, of Pompton Lakes.
According to a mall spokesperson, those locked-in rates of $2.45 the first hour and $2 every additional hour will not change even during the busy holiday season.
Ten percent of the revenue will go to Child Focus, a nonprofit that helps abused and neglected children in Passaic and Union counties.
The company managing the lot operates similar paid parking programs at malls across the country. The maximum daily charge there is $10.
“If you don't want to and you want to just get free parking, you take your time and find a spot,” said Sarah-Ann Alie, of West Milford.
