K Kakes Cakery in South Orange

galileo said:
The people who say there is no problem parking in Maplewood don't frequent Maplewood very often. Every day I drive to town and usually there are no parking places anywhere. I end up going elsewhere. Lunchtime is the worst so I avoid that. I think of all the businesses that lose customers every day. There has to be a solution!  The Township Committee will never address this but I wonder if they shop in town.

Actually, no. Others who have made the argument, myself included, are in the village quite frequently. And I see TC members in the village all the time. They've made efforts such as opening up spaces on Baker St. You don't have any information which we don't. I just find statements like "there are no parking spaces anywhere" to be inaccurate. Sure, Friday lunch and Friday and Saturday dinner time can be challenging. Otherwise, one can find spaces, and it does sometimes involve going off of the main street.

The reality, which will not change, is that SOMa is crowded. People who want to park directly in front of a store or restaurant, or right on Maplewood Ave., or who don't bother to learn where there are spaces, are almost always going to be disappointed.

apple44 said:

I just find statements like "there are no parking spaces anywhere" to be inaccurate.

 It happens. I don’t think it’s a crisis or anything, but the idea that there’s always a space somewhere — if only people didn’t need to park right in front of their destination — is also inaccurate. Between 11 and 1 (or so) on any day can be an adventure in Maplewood parking. Take it from a guy who had to trawl a 100-square-block area for up to 45 minutes at a time for residential parking where he used to live.

@jamie - I think you need a "Parking" category.  Lots of discussions (like this one) seem to eventually become about parking (it doesn't even matter which town was being discussed at the start of the thread).

Parking is the "black hole" of topics, its gravity is so strong.

Parking in South Orange sucks because of the meters.  It would take more time to go to the parking kiosk and pay for parking than it would to actually run into the pharmacy to just quickly pick up my script and run back out.  I understand that they don't want people parking for free and spending 5 hours taking up a spot, but there weren't any 10 minute spots with the exception of the one on Comstock by Vose, which is far enough that parking there I'd risk taking too long and running over the ten minutes.  Having a few more 10 minute spots near stores where people run in and out quickly would help those businesses. 

Also, the time allowed for metered parking in South Orange is too short, unless they've changed that since I last parked there.  Getting a ticket for being five minutes over sucks.  Yes, you can feed the meter, but don't tell anyone you did, I got reamed here on MOL once for admitting I fed the meter so I could do more errands (and spend more money) in South Orange.  

That said, I can almost always find metered parking within 3 minutes of looking for a spot in S.O. at lunchtime. In Maplewood Village, I've spent over 15 minutes going in-and-out of various lots and roads looking for legal parking on a weekday around lunchtime the last two times I went to meet a friend there. 

I think there are fewer and larger metered lots in S.O., making the open spots easier to find. While in Maplewood the lots are smaller and more scattered (with permit areas sprinkled around), and so it's harder to find a spot when it's busy. Maplewood's issue may be that it's more luck of being in the right place at the right time, and luck of having the luxury of no one behind me so I can slow down to read street parking signs while driving.

In Summit, you can feed the meter with your cell phone. Their computer even sends a text that your meter is gonna expire so you can feed it.

parking is a problem but please do not suggest the building of a parking garage. Too many new bullies Inga change the character and landscape of our beautiful town. Sometimes I go to town can’t park and go home. Oh well!!! I too get frustrated but am also glad as to how popular we are. And I also agree you can park by the train and take a little walk or up high in the side streets. Yes it is annoying but so be it. No parking garages!!!!!

Here's a map of Maplewood parking:

http://maplewoodvillagenj.com/parking-directions 

If you click on the map to view it larger, it appears to be from 2014 -- and there have been some changes since then. It could also be helpful to show street parking availability a bit further out (if it exists).

I always do the Dunnell Ave parking trick in the evenings... but lunchtime weekdays seems to be a bigger challenge to find anything in any of the indicated parking areas, as Dunnell, and many other local streets, are full from commuter parking.

safetyfirst said:
parking is a problem but please do not suggest the building of a parking garage. Too many new bullies Inga change the character and landscape of our beautiful town. Sometimes I go to town can’t park and go home. Oh well!!! I too get frustrated but am also glad as to how popular we are. And I also agree you can park by the train and take a little walk or up high in the side streets. Yes it is annoying but so be it. No parking garages!!!!!

 There is a planning process going on in SO (the main topic of this thread) which includes a major library improvement, new Village Hall space and some amount of added parking (eg garage) on the Library lot, paid for at least in part by developers.  Nothing is decided yet, but I’m excited by what I hear so far.

What constitutes available parking for a single able bodied person is entirely different that what constitutes available parking for a parent with toddlers or a person with limited mobility (who might not have a handicapped parking permit). My kids are bigger now but, when they were young, I frequently just gave up on shopping in Maplewood Village when I couldn't find a spot within blocks of my destination after a couple of passes.  

Some days, when the weather is particularly bad, I still do this. Tough luck for me, I suppose but its also tough luck for the businesses to whom I wanted to give my money.

spontaneous said:
Parking in South Orange sucks because of the meters.  It would take more time to go to the parking kiosk and pay for parking than it would to actually run into the pharmacy to just quickly pick up my script and run back out.  I understand that they don't want people parking for free and spending 5 hours taking up a spot, but there weren't any 10 minute spots with the exception of the one on Comstock by Vose, which is far enough that parking there I'd risk taking too long and running over the ten minutes.  Having a few more 10 minute spots near stores where people run in and out quickly would help those businesses. 
Also, the time allowed for metered parking in South Orange is too short, unless they've changed that since I last parked there.  Getting a ticket for being five minutes over sucks.  Yes, you can feed the meter, but don't tell anyone you did, I got reamed here on MOL once for admitting I fed the meter so I could do more errands (and spend more money) in South Orange.  

The meters do suck. The one's near Cait and Abby are limited to ½ hr and only accept quarters. Who can enjoy a meal or run numerous errands with those meters?  

There is a parking lot on sloan street with 3 hour meters.  The ones on the main street are for those who have quick errands (Starbucks, dry cleaners, UPS store, etc).  If having lunch, use a 3 hour meter.  

And agree that parking in Maplewood, especially on Friday is very challenging.  I usually park near Ridgewood road and walk.  I have always heard the big issue on Maplewood is employee /owner parking -- that those folks take up the best spots despite it not making any business sense.  

Meters for the most part take quarters.  I just keep some in the car.  I have received one parking ticket in over 30 years in S. Orange (and I had not put any money in - tried to get away with a quick run into the dry cleaners and the bakery.  

Looking back over our 30 years in S.O., I can count on one hand the times I've had serious trouble parking there. Never ticketed, either. But then, again: since my days as a NYC cabbie, I've had The Gift Of Park...

-s.

I *hate* the remote (if that’s what it’s called) parking pay system in South Orange (and many other places). First, and not just SO, the numbers are worn or hard to read. Then as someone who has at least a touch of dyslexia, unless I snap a picture of the painted number, by the time I’ve walked across the lot, been chatting with my friends or family, I don’t remember the number 

Worst, the UX/UI for these machines is awful. And can someone tell me why in 2018 they don’t build in a credit card reader that reads the card no matter how it’s inserted? (And 90% of the time those stickers are worn or unclear)

Don’t get me started on the phone app.  It requires a minimum balance. Seriously?!  

peteglider said:
I *hate* the remote (if that’s what it’s called) parking pay system in South Orange (and many other places). First, and not just SO, the numbers are worn or hard to read. Then as someone who has at least a touch of dyslexia, unless I snap a picture of the painted number, by the time I’ve walked across the lot, been chatting with my friends or family, I don’t remember the number 


Worst, the UX/UI for these machines is awful. And can someone tell me why in 2018 they don’t build in a credit card reader that reads the card no matter how it’s inserted? (And 90% of the time those stickers are worn or unclear)
Don’t get me started on the phone app.  It requires a minimum balance. Seriously?!  

 I don't like to complain too much, but I did think It was odd that when they replaced those machines a few years ago they installed units with full alpha numeric keypads.  There is no reason to have small numbers and 26 unused letters.