American Dream will be opening tomorrow and you will have to pay to park, that is unless you only stay there for 30 minutes.

Here is what it will cost to park there, “Parking prices will vary based on the amount of time spent at the mall, starting free-of-charge and increasing up to $24. Here’s a look at the parking prices:

• 0-29 mins: Free
• 30 mins – 3 hours: $3
• Up to 4:59 hours/mins: $4
• Up to 6:59 hours/mins: $5
• Up to 7:59 hours/mins: $6
• 8+ hours: $24 (maximum all-day rate applies)

There will be no cost to park during the upcoming opening weekend — from Friday through Sunday.

On event days at MetLife Stadium, like football games or concerts, the $30 event parking rate will be in effect at the American Dream Mall parking lot.

Those looking to drop their car and go can make use of the valet service for an additional $10, with all standard parking rates still applying.”

So it seems that this model encourages a visitor to only stay 30 minutes or less to avoid paying for parking. This seems a little stupid to me, who wants to pay to park at the mall? Not me!

What is driving this economic model and will it work? It seems that the area around the mall has traffic congestion problems already and the opening of American Dream will only make it worse. So I must conclude that they want to discourage people from driving to the mall. You can get there by bus from Secaucus via NJ Transit and those coming from NYC can take NY Waterways. But be aware that NJ Transit has no plans to have enough service to handle large crowds. This does not sound like a winning plan to me, but we will just have to wait and see what happens.

My thinking is that American Dream will quickly become ‘America Nightmare.’ The roadway system needs major fixes to make it work smoothly and I don’t see this happening any time soon. So go at your own risk.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike