Ocean Grove 2011. Parking was being served up for discussion 5 years ago. This issue never goes away. Blogfinger photo.
A parking task force is being organized by Neptune Township. It was announced at the last Neptune Committee meeting when the OGHOA plan was ignored, and the citizens weren’t able to speak. So when that happened, the HOA basically raised the white flag and said, “Yes, Sir!.”
Now the new task force will have representatives from the Committee, Chamber of Commerce, HOA, CMA, and residents. We don’t know how the last category was chosen. The plan will be announced at the June 27 committee meeting.
But even though the HOA will be part of the new task force, they evidently are skeptical that anything definitive will come out of it, so they want to add a little persuasive citizen muscle to the situation by getting residents to sign a petition “demanding” that “concrete improvements to the parking situation” will be implemented before May, 2017.
They quote the Mayor, who is promising that the Committee will not “run away from this problem,” so the petition takes that quote and turns it into an “obligation to the residents of Ocean Grove.”
Harsh petition talk from the HOA, but where was that tough talk when the Committee threw the HOA parking plan under the bus? The Committee must think of OG citizens as a bunch of patsies.
Members of the HOA are circulating this petition. If you are not asked, but want to join the throng, check their web site for more info. OGHOA web site. And you can’t use your anonymous BF names.
So what do our readers think of the planned process to make something happen with parking? Will the various factions actually find solutions in common? Click the comment button below.
As for the HOA Parking Plan which was produced with considerable effort by the Parking Committee, it is unclear as to what will occur because the task force needs to organize and create some sort of statement as to what its procedures will be. Hopefully its efforts will be transparent. Will their meetings be open to the public?
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
RAY CHARLES “What’d I Say?”
1. A resident sticker will not give you parking near your home. You may still be walking blocks to your house if you work or leave during the day.
2. Removing the medians on Broadway to fill up with cars would be a terrible insult to the Beautification Project and also to the beauty of the town. Do we want all concrete parking and no charm?
What are the plans – other than the permit stickers? Will their also be other parking spots created in town? Although pretty, the middle medians in town are not necessary and can be removed for quite a number of parking spots. All along Broadway, there is a center median that can be removed, for parking to be added. This way, the town’s businesses will not be effected, as visitors can still find parking and residents can have at least One parked car in front of their own home.
This petition should also target the OG Camp Meeting Association. They are just as guilty as Neptune Township.
The Township Committee will never do anything about parking. To do so would require recognizing the problem. How can they admit to a parking problem and still back condominium development when someone raises lack of parking space as an objection?
Parking could be improved. I have seen it in my former residence in Hudson County, Parking stickers were issued to residents for an annual fee to prevent commuters from taking parking spaces (this being Hudson County, you can guess where some of the fees landed). We could do the same, with Ocean Avenue parking open during beach months from 8 am to 7 pm. And 2 hour parking on Main Avenue until 11 pm.
You would not need the Camp Meeting to agree because they don’t own the streets, and meters would not be required. The town would need to operate a small parking enforcement cart to check stickers. Now, the naysayers would claim it would be detrimental to beach attendance. So start a shuttle service. There are too many tourists anyway. We live here, and should be able to park.
There are many moving parts to our parking problem.
The number one problem is the Township Committee permitting condominium projects.
The number two problem is the HOA supporting the Committee.
Can the problem be solved? Yes, but only if the OGCMA does some “Soul Searching”.