One of the mall’s new premium parking spaces. Shoppers pay $10 to use one of them for the day.
Many shoppers at the Deptford Mall are in an uproar over a new premium parking policy that began in the last week of August.
The mall now charges shoppers $10 to use its premuium parking spaces for the day. Located in the spots closest to the mall’s multiple entrances, the spaces are right next to handicapped parking. Spots further away remain free, as do those reserved for the handicapped, veterans and expectant mothers.
In order to pay for a space, customers have to scan a QR code to a payment center that accepts credit cards or Apple Pay.
While the new policy marks a first for the mall, shoppers and residents soon took to social media to voice their concerns and frustrations.
“This mall is a business,” said Rhonda Lee Gurlin on Facebook. “It needs people to come here and shop to keep its business going forward. If people can’t come here and feel safe while shopping or comfortable parking their vehicle, then one or two things will happen. They all go somewhere else, or they all pay.
“How dare any place charge people to shop at their place to feel safe,” she added. “I will not be paying this just to shop at their mall; I will be going elsewhere. How about they “appreciate” their customers coming there, fully secure the entire parking lot and increase security?
“Anything to pull more money out of the people’s pockets.”
The mall’s owner, Arizona-based Macerich, issued a statement that noted the new policy only applies to a small percentage of the mall’s total number of parking spaces.
“Premier Parking is an optional convenience for shoppers, especially during the busy holiday season,” the statement said. “It covers less than 1% of the nearly 5,000 spaces at the center. Thousands of free spaces remain open. Designated and free parking for handicapped drivers, expectant mothers and veterans is fully available and unaffected.”
As of Sept. 4, the mall had not announced any change in the policy and there is no word yet on how it will be enforced.
“I’m good,” said W.L. Smith Sankofa said of the policy on Facebook. “I need the steps anyway.”
