Town mulls restricting parking on Morris Ave.
Residents complain
about commuters
clogging the street
By elaine van develde
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN — Park it properly or pay the price. That’s an edict officials are considering with respect to commuter cars clogging up residential Morris Avenue.
The issue was discussed at the Township Committee workshop meeting May 6 and is still up for debate. A contingent of Morris Avenue residents has asked the committee to intervene to provide relief from the inundation of commuters parking their vehicles on Morris Avenue.
The details of the "mainly at commuter time" dilemma, Township Administrator Robert Czech said, is that instead of using the commuter parking lot behind Belford Independent Fire Company on Route 36 near Main Street, commuters are opting to take up street space and are parking in front of residences on Morris Avenue, which runs parallel to Route 36 between Church and Main streets.
This contingent of residents wants it stopped. In response, officials are looking into crafting an ordinance to restrict parking to two hours on Morris Avenue. Violators would be ticketed and fined accordingly. That ordinance is slated for introduction at Monday’s meeting, with a public hearing scheduled for June 17.
However, it was noted that the letter of complaint was not signed, so no one knows exactly who this contingent consists of or whether the opinion is truly a consensus.
"Do we know if all residents will be happy about this?" Deputy Mayor Rosemarie Peters asked at the meeting. "I do not have a problem with the restriction, as long as it’s all right with all the residents on the street."
Mayor Patrick Parkinson noted that residents on that particular street "all have driveways," so restricting street parking may not present a problem. Still, he said, the committee should "tell them that the ordinance is being introduced, and if they have any concerns, they can call or come to the public meeting" to voice them.
Considering the unknown factor of whether everyone on the block was in agreement, Peters and other committee members suggested notifying those residents and letting them know the ordinance will be considered.
Said Czech outside the meeting, "There have been parking issues in this area before. For instance, when a pool hall was proposed for the fire company [in front of the lot], residents raised concerns over the prospect of overflow parking on residential streets."
The pool hall became a moot issue after the idea met with objections.