Residents seek parking solutions on two streets

By: Michelle McGuinness
   FLORENCE — Residents and the Township Council were stuck at a crossroad last week over what to do about parking on two roads in Roebling — Delaware and Eighth avenues.
   Residents of Eighth Avenue in Roebling were divided over whether or not to ask for parking lines on the road. Drivers on Delaware Avenue are also waiting to see if a proposal to move the double yellow line on that road 4 feet over will get a green light from the Township Council.
   Township Administrator Richard Brook said the issue of striped parking on Eighth Avenue came up only a few months ago when residents there approached the council with a petition requesting lined parking.
   The first petition was signed by 28 residents living between Hornberger Avenue and Main street. Mr. Brook said some of the residents who signed the petition probably lived in the same household.
   Problems arose when the council followed up by sending out fliers to all the residents of Eighth Avenue asking for their thoughts on the proposed lined parking.
   This resulted in a second petition against putting lined parking on the street, Mr. Brook said. He said this latter petition was actually signed by some of the same people who signed the first petition in favor of lined parking. The second petition was signed by about 56 residents down the entire .2 miles of Eighth Avenue.
   At the council’s meeting on July 11, Eighth Avenue residents Laurie and Gregg Goodwin spoke against lined parking during the public comment portion of the meeting. Mr. Goodwin said they could lose eight to 10 parking spots if lined parking is implemented on Eighth Avenue because the lined parking will have to account for fire hydrants and handicapped parking.
   "At this point, the Township Council has decided to send a flier around to get residents to come to a common meeting," Mr. Brook said.
   He said he hopes the residents will talk to each other as much as to the council at the meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for either August or September. Mr. Brook said a definite date was scheduled to be set at the committee’s July 18 meeting after the Register went to press.
   "The township will do its best to make a reasonable decision after listening to both sides," Mr. Brook said.
   He said striped parking has been implemented successfully on two other streets — Second and Railroad avenues.
   Also at the July 11 meeting, Don Kamienski, of McCay Drive in Roebling presented a proposal to the council to move the double yellow lines on Delaware Avenue 4 feet toward the northbound lane.
   The issue of trucks parking on Delaware Avenue near the Corner Deli has come up at previous meetings because some residents say the trucks block the road, forcing cars to pass over the double yellow lines there to get around them.
   Mr. Brook said one proposal for the road is moving the double yellow line over 2 feet toward the northbound lane to give drivers more room to pass.
   At the meeting, Mr. Kamienski proposed going one step further and moving the double yellow line over 4 feet instead.
   According to Mr. Kamienski, many cars pass over the line by about 2 feet. He said that moving the line over 4 feet, would eliminate the need for cars to cross the yellow line at all. This proposal, he said, would also create two 12-foot-wide lanes on the road.
   Mr. Brook said the issue of parking on Delaware Avenue is ongoing and may not come up again in council meetings until August.