BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Well, we’ll see if this works.
A timed parking restriction aimed at curbing high school junior and senior drivers could apply to everybody aiming to park on an additional 16 town roads during the school day, effective by the start of the new school year.
In an ongoing effort to resolve residents’ complaints of speeding, distracted, and sometimes belligerent young drivers in their neighborhoods, the Township Council agreed Aug. 7 to fold in the streets under an existing two-hour parking restriction.
The new rules, which drew thanks and applause from some residents but worried others who addressed the mayor and council at the meeting, pave the way for creating a two-hour time limit on both sides of affected streets during the school day, subject to fine.
Signs would need to be posted for the ordinance to be enforceable, and several will be ordered. Not every street covered in the revised ordinance will necessarily get the signs, council members said.
Now, as set forth in Ordinance No. 17-09, available to read on the township’s website, time limit parking is amended to add:
- Beech Street between Ridgewood Road and Lincoln Avenue;
- Bergen Avenue;
- Calvin Street between Bergen and Lincoln avenues;
- Columbus Square;
- Fern Street between Bergen and Lincoln avenues;
- Hickory Street between Bergen and Lincoln avenues;
- Howard Street between Ridgewood Road and Lincoln Avenue;
- Maple Avenue;
- Mountain Avenue between Ridgewood Road and Lincoln Avenue;
- Pershing Avenue;
- Prospect Avenue;
- South Chestnut Street;
- Sussex Road between Eton Road and Lincoln Avenue;
- Times Square;
- Walnut Street between Bergen and Lincoln avenues; and
- Webster Avenue.
This was the second required vote on the matter. It survived one “no” vote, by Councilmember Peter Calamari, and one abstention, by Councilmember Steven Cascio. Calamari had tried to table the vote, saying he still had questions about enforcement and untried alternatives, but did not get a second.
A recent council push to blanket the town with a two-hour school-day parking limit drew public ire and was scrapped.
The problem remains how to encourage student drivers at Westwood Regional High School, at 701 Ridgewood Road, to take advantage of limited on-campus parking, and discourage them from parking on residential streets, which has alarmed some neighbors and brought them to council meetings to complain about unsafe driving.
South Chestnut Street residents, among those who have borne the brunt of the parking situation, spoke at spring and summer meetings to demand action.
One such resident, John Andrisano, warned officials that the township would be in for “lawsuit central” in the event it does nothing to prevent a hypothetical accident involving one of his children.
As the rule limiting parking passed, Andrisano was more soft-spoken.
“Thank you. You guys have definitely taken us seriously,” he said.
On the other hand, several residents spoke out against the rule, citing unintended consequences: it could prohibit homeowners, their guests, and even their contractors from parking outside homes on affected streets for more than two hours during the school day.
One, Christine Romero of Hickory Street, said the culprits were principally juniors, who are new to driving and are not given spaces to park on campus. She also said the measure, while well intended, amounts to “punishing” her and her neighbors.
Cypress Street resident Alexander Ruiz observed that no students had appeared to join the conversation, and that in any event it seemed “parents in Westwood probably don’t give a crap where their students park in Washington Township.”
Council members agreed the measure was not ideal, but speculated that few students had the disposable income to keep paying fine after fine—that eventually the word would spread among the student body that parking on campus was preferable.
“They’ll get a lesson in civics when they have to show up in court to pay these tickets,” Councilmember Michael Ullman said of the students.
Council members also said that residents so inclined could also take the matter up with the Board of Education. It was school leadership, they said, who should have taken on the responsibility of providing adequate student parking and made sure students’ families got the message that the district expected them to use it.
Councilmember Thomas Sears was particularly pointed on the issue, again singling out Superintendent of Schools Raymond A. Gonzalez as “distant” and “out of touch” with residents’ concerns.
He and others on the council continued to scorn the district’s plan to erect a $3 million maintenance facility on school grounds against a backdrop of parking spillover leading to safety concerns.
The mayor and council said they wanted to see the school district develop additional parking options for students, such as expanding the school lot or leasing space at an adjacent church, and that their calls and letters on the subject were unreturned.
Reached for comment Aug. 9, Gonzalez told a Pascack Press reporter, “Nothing new has transpired between the Township and my office since you reached out to me in June.”
He repeated his view that traffic and parking enforcement is a police matter, and explained that a preliminary survey of high school lottery applications showed there would be enough parking for interested seniors, at least, when school resumes in the fall.
He cited a letter sent to seniors’ families, also posted on the high school’s website, that “outlined the plan” for seniors parking on campus.
The letter reads, in part, “student parking is a senior-class-only privilege, and there are 137 spots set aside for them. When classes resume, there will be 238 seniors enrolled, up from last year’s 182. Although we cannot provide a guaranteed parking spot for every senior driver for the entirety of the school year, we believe our changes reflect the fairest approach possible.”
The letter is signed by the high school’s principal, Frank Connelly, whom Gonzalez, to the Pascack Press, commended for thinking outside the box.
Regarding the planned maintenance facility, Gonzalez told the Pascack Press that the need to construct and relocate the maintenance garage to replace the current one, which is in disrepair, has been in the works since November 2016.
“As required by the NJ Department of Education, the schematic plans for the project were submitted to the Township in February 2017 and we received no comments or queries,” he said.
He also said that, “As a school district we continue to improve how we educate our students on safe driving. This past year, our Driver Education students were involved in a safe driving program in collaboration with Hackensack University Medical Center, State Farm Insurance, and the U Got Brains organization to raise awareness about the importance of wearing seat belts and empowering our future drivers to embrace safe driving habits. Our efforts were recognized at the local, county, and state level.
The Board of Education next meets August 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the school’s Hurley Theater. Approximately a dozen residents who left the council meeting unsatisfied said they would attend that meeting in greater numbers to share their views.
The council members, Mayor Janet Sobkowicz, and a number of residents have said they’re eager for a solution before the start of the new school year.
She explained that the police have been monitoring the situation, including tracking student parking activity and surveying neighbors, and have long backed some form of restriction.
How the police will enforce the rule is still to be decided, the council concluded. Police Capt. Gregg Hackbarth was traveling the week this news broke, and was unavailable for comment.
Such questions as enforcement do remain, and alternatives such as whether a “resident parking only” sign or decal system might work as well or better were advanced by residents.