Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net
In order to solve the parking problem in the Grove, the town has to accept the idea that parking spots on streets within residential zones are for the residents!
The residents of Ocean Grove pay taxes and should be entitled to reserved parking spaces near their homes. Free permits with designated spots should be issued according to the size of each house (as required by State law.)
Then the residents can live normal lives as do residents of other towns. You can actually go to Wegmans on a summer Saturday, buy a bagel, and find your parking spot when you come back.
A limited number of streets in the Grove should be for nonresident parking, and that would include Main Avenue east for shoppers, Ocean Avenue for beachers, and Broadway one side, but all such streets need metered parking. Wherever there are any empty lots (as the one at the foot of Broadway) there should be metered parking.
Airbnb rentals should not be allowed on residential streets which are not zoned for commercial enterprises.
The CMA should reclaim the old Neptune High school, knock it down, and build a 500 car parking garage (as they plan to do in AP) Then charge high fees to make it profitable.
An aggressive shuttle system could be for visitors who will park their cars outside of town, unless they can grab a metered space in town. This is how CMA visitors and beach visitors can park.
This system will discourage many of those thousands of tourists who like to come to the Grove, but there are other fine Shore towns which they can visit if our tiny town is full.
The system will encourage those who want to come here to use their common sense and pool vehicles into town, take the train/bus, hire a ride, take the ferry, ride a bike, etc. Maybe a valet system could work for all day parkers.
Also, there is no need for mega and pointless events such as giant flea markets and British car shows. And the CMA needs to temper its ambitious programming–and they will if there is limited parking.
By eliminating free parking, few from the land of Asburian desperation will find OG so tempting.
This system will work, but it requires courage to do what’s right for residents. No other would work because no other redefines who gets to park here.
I know that some say, ‘If you don’t like it here, move elsewhere or don’t move here in the first place.” But I reject that sentiment. Cities and towns always change, and this town shouldn’t be any different.
Remember the ancient city of Troy? It was very famous and popular, and it was hard to park your chariot there.
But it evolved. The Trojan horse allowed the Greeks to come in and change things, and then everybody spoke Greek, went to the theater, and ate souvlaki.
And remember the ancient city of Ocean Grove? they wouldn’t allow certain groups to live here, so they provided a precedent for defining who gets to park in this town.
We are open to other free ideas on BF (The $50,000 type looks hopeless) but if you do put your toe into the water, please keep it brief—about as long as this post, or even shorter.
Editor’s note: Here’s an interesting item from 5/11 APP:
DEAL – Public access advocates are looking to fight a proposed parking permit ordinance that they say would keep the public from being free to park near the ocean along five residential streets at the beachfront here.
Borough officials say they’re within their rights to regulate parking on their busier beach streets.
LEON REDBONE:
Before the North End us even considered being developed, the township must first do a parking study that requires the OGCMA to provide parking for all it’s public buildings along with parking for every condo that was required by law since RSIS was written into law.
No development must proceed until a legal parking study is done and until Neptune brings OG’s zoning into compliance with law.
Just as they’ve done in other Shore towns. Bite the bullet and just implement these plans. As the Covid restrictions relax, the North End will once again become the Asburian Parking Scoffer’s haven. The tenters will soon arrive soon with all their cars to add to the residents parking nightmare here. People will adjust. If they need modification down the road, so be it. Just do SOMETHING!
The suggestions given are a sort of composite of the various ideas that have been floating around. You can barely get two full parking spaces with a 30 ft. lot width. The result is that people will not be always able to park directly in front of their house.
A suggestion was made for a parking structure on the grassy area where the “Welcome to OG” sign presently resides with a reclaiming of the diagonal Bond St. The OGCMA expressed disapproval of this.
If you go to Goggle maps and look at the satellite view of OG, something very interesting is seen. The image shows trees in leaf and people on the beach [yes, we are all visible from space]. Ocean Ave. parking is full as are nearby streets. However, if one looks towards southwestern areas of OG, an increasing number of empty parking spaces are seen. This seems to support the comment that OG has a walking problem, not a parking problem. I visit OG by train and walk from the AP station in my mid-70s.