By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Borough officials are continuing to work on traffic and parking issues in and around Myrtle Park as the spring recreation season quickly approaches.
Mayor Peter Cammarano said since borough officials received resident complaints in November, they have been working with the police department to take a look at the issues.
“We are anticipating on waiting for the spring season to start to get a better sense [of the problems],” he said at a Borough Council meeting on Feb. 21. “Right now there is not a lot of volume nighttime activity at the park.”
However, Cammarano said police have been monitoring the street situation, speed limits, safety and parking situation in the park.
In November, residents on East Walnut Street came to the mayor and council looking for a happy medium with parkgoers utilizing Charles Field at Myrtle Park, which is at the end of the street.
They expressed concerns with overflow of parking on their street and safety concerns with the many children coming in and out of the park.
Cammarano said some of the things they are looking at, which can be done before the spring recreation season starts, are possibly lining the gravel top parking lot in the park; therefore, providing more orderly parking.
“[With the lines] you can get more cars in there as well as with the removal of the tree in the middle of the parking lot,” he said. “The tree throws off the parking pattern. The first person that doesn’t know how to get around the tree pretty much creates a pattern that does not allow a lot of cars.”
Cammarano said once they have more observation during peak times, he expects the police department will present more recommendations for East Walnut Street as well as the parking situation at the park.