{"id":20774,"date":"2022-09-28T04:48:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T08:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=20774"},"modified":"2022-09-28T12:57:59","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T16:57:59","slug":"no-parking-proposal-on-brick-twp-street-draws-opposition-from-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2022\/09\/no-parking-proposal-on-brick-twp-street-draws-opposition-from-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No Parking’ Proposal on Brick Twp. Street Draws Opposition From Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Davos<\/a>

Davos Road, Brick, N.J., Sept. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Residents of what has, historically, been a quiet street in Brick Township came to Tuesday night\u2019s township council meeting to voice their opposition to an ordinance that would ban on-street parking on their street.<\/p>\n

The residents of Davos Road, off Princeton Avenue, also have a popular neighbor: the Windward Tavern bar and restaurant. But the restaurant isn\u2019t, in and of itself, the source of the proposed parking prohibition. Township officials said the street first appeared on their radar after an ambulance essentially became \u201cstuck\u201d on the narrow roadway while attempting to transport a resident to the hospital. Engineers studied the street and determined it was simply too narrow for certain emergency vehicles to turn around when cars are parked on either side, and recommended prohibiting parking.<\/p>\n

Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said it was expected that another review from the township\u2019s Bureau of Fire Prevention would yield a final recommendation of prohibiting parking on one side of the street, but the calculations called for a total parking ban. The group of residents assembled at Tuesday\u2019s meeting strong disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I went to go buy a home and they told me I couldn\u2019t park on the road, I probably wouldn\u2019t buy it,\u201d said one resident, suggesting the township seek alternatives, including resident parking permits.<\/p>\n

\"Davos<\/a>

Davos Road, Brick, N.J., Sept. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here 46 years on that street,\u201d said resident Gary Saarloos. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had any problems with the parking. I have my son and grandson living with me, and they each have a car. Where are they supposed to put their cars? Do I have to spend $3,000 or $4,000 for a new driveway?\u201d<\/p>\n

Saarloos said the only alternative he could imagine would be parking cars on his front lawn, a last-ditch option since he\u2019s paid for landscaping. Bergin said parking cars on one\u2019s lawn is, itself, a code violation.<\/p>\n

Other residents placed the blame on live events at the Windward Tavern and activities that take place at nearby Windward Beach Park, both of which they say draws nonresidents to park on their street.<\/p>\n

\u201cA fire truck had a problem getting down the street because of excess parking from the restaurant and the size of the street,\u201d said resident Cara Kellner. \u201cSome of our residents only have single driveways. On a normal night there are two or three cars on the street. The problem is that when the restaurant has entertainment, or there is an event at the park, it has an impact on our street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet another resident blamed the lack of room on the presence of a large tree that they say is located on township-owned property and could be removed to make more space.<\/p>\n

To be clear, neither the restaurant nor those who run events at the park requested the ordinance. Bergin said after the meeting that the township has a legal duty to ensure that emergency vehicles can clear a turn on the street in order to serve residents. The street, whenever it was built, was constructed to odd specifications. It begins at a standard width of about 29-feet, but gradually scales down to 21-feet. By the end, in a scenario where cars are parked on the road, a vehicle such as a large ambulance or fire truck cannot position itself.<\/p>\n