By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
Some people argue that residents’ parking stickers are not needed because the “season” is only two months, but as OG has become busier and busier, we have crowded streets in the spring and the fall.
Today, Saturday, September 19, 2015, parking is again tight due to the car show, street sales, fund raisers and a 5K run out of the Arts Center.
Last Saturday it was mobbed due to the giant flea market.
And don’t forget all those Asbury events: shopping, music, employees, and eateries/bars that result in interlopers parking at our North side, especially near the bridges to Asbury and near the boardwalk. We see them all the time by Firemen’s Park. Asbury has become “hipster city,” and our free parking is in demand.
Those of us who live here should reject the argument that this is a problem only two months per year. The reality is perhaps 6 months of the year. People do go out to dinner and bars. after the summer is over.
We should badger the town Committee to reconsider this. Old arguments may not work any longer. Let’s talk about it again here in our comments section. And lets badger Badger to consider the resident population besides the CMA’s total focus on its “mission.”
Parking poll from one year ago: 2014 BF parking poll
ME AND MY GIRL: Broadway cast recording of the “Lambeth Walk.”
blogfinger.net 
We need to appreciate the town that we knowingly moved to or chose to stay in. Appreciate that our historic town is a destination for people. Appreciate that visitors come to our stores, churches, venues and restaurants. Without visitors, these places/services would not exist. I doubt that year round residents can solely support these enough to maintain them.
Parking has always been an issue. We will continue to deal with the driving and searching, or do not drive. This is our town to enjoy. Take the great along with the bad.
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Since the 1970’s, the N.J.State Legislature has prohibited any municipality from approving development that creates or adds to existing traffic congestion or parking problems.
Could it be, that some Politicians in N.J.have been violating the Law, and the local residents are left with the problem?
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As long as the powers that be refuse to fund a parking study, or didn’t like what previous studies said, nothing will be done. As long as RSIS regulations are ignored or bypassed in some manner, nothing will be done. It’s ironic that they won’t institute diagonal parking the length of Main because it will supposedly open a big can of worms with the State and the RSIS. Doesn’t stop developers getting a pass on RSIS to build condos or a new commercial project on Main by the way.
Declining attendance at the Saturday night events and Sunday services, because of parking issues to a large extent, doesn’t seem to bother anyone it seems either.
The fact that all year long Asbury meter scoffers, including staff, use the short, narrow streets North of Main as a free parking lot for dining and bar hopping at night doesn’t seem to bother Neptune and the CMA one bit.
Leave cars parked in the same spot on the street for 7 months during the off season and not be towed as an abandoned vehicle? No problem, except for the people who live year round and have to deal with un-plowed and un-swept streets.
There will always be the anecdotal story of the person who finds a convenient parking place on the weekend but that is the exception, not the rule.
Time limited parking along the beachfront and commercial area needs to be implemented. Permits for residents, in strictly residential areas, needs to be implemented too.
Neither will happen.
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Metering the beach and Main Ave. would only result in people moving to other streets to park free. I for one am tired of “visitors” and summer renters who litter, raise the noise level and cram 12 people with six cars into a small two bedroom house. This influx of individuals to Ocean Grove has provided little fiscal relief to the town’s residents where property taxes have more than tripled within the past 10 years, while other areas of Neptune have seen reductions.
And while individuals like Paulie D may find the Ocean Grove of the past “moribund,” at least we had a market with a butcher where one could actually buy food. The reality is, while there are more realtors than ever, services for people who live here have declined.
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Small car: I’m not sure what you mean about “sharing these comments.” We post (i.e. share) your comments here for all to see online. Many of the people who never comment do read the comments of others, including officials at the Mother Ship.
When we were posting many articles trying to convince FEMA that they should fund the boardwalk rebuilding, many of our readers commented on it. We learned from a source that the FEMA group considering the OG application were following the discussions on Blogfinger. —–Paul @Blogfinger.
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JOEL: Your parable is a bit opaque. If any of you BF readers out there want to explain Joel’s parable, go ahead and comment. Maybe Joel will tell us the moral of the story.
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The other group that doesn’t give a damn about our parking problem is OGCMA. They do not want permit parking because then certain areas (eg one side of each street) would be reserved for residents, resulting in even fewer spaces for outsiders coming to OGCMA events.
Why doesn’t Blogfinger share these comments?
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Parable: There once was a group of people using public bathroom stalls. Discovering that there was no toilet paper, they complained to their shadows. Each hearing the others complaint, they then complimented to the others in the bathroom, as to their eloquence. Outside in the hall way stood the janitor, next to him all his supplies in a cart. The janitor was bragging to someone how nice his new cell phone was. “Yes” exclaimed the listener with him. I called you the other day to tell you the light was out in the bathroom. “It was so dark I couldn’t even see my shadow!”
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Joel: I have no way to answer your question, but it is a good idea for people to share their ideas about local issues with the Township Committee. However, when it comes to Ocean Grove, the Neptune Twp. Committee lives in a bubble, including the one guy, Randy Bishop, who lives in the Grove but isn’t swayed by that fact.
I wish we had a form of government where we elect our own Committee person who would actually represent us. The current political system which we have in this town is a failure in terms of representation for the people of Ocean Grove. We are political orphans, powerless and without our own advocates. We are the victims of a bizarre history where the Township was run as a theocracy for over a hundred years, with governance being turned over in 1980 to a political culture which didn’t care much about us and still does not.
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Central Ave is scheduled to be repaved next year.
Central Ave water lines to be upgraded this year.
Parking complaints will be never ending.
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Blogfinger how many people copy their post and sent it to the Neptune Twnsp Committee>
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Thanks Phyllis for joining in our conversations. Perhaps some of our readers will respond to your questions and opinions. Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
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Have lived on Asbury Ave 20+ years. Parking is much worse now that Asbury Park is “back” and charging for parking. One day this August I parked on the other side of Broadway, 7 blocks away.
MB Jahn is MIA and our other “representatives” on the Township Committee simply don’t give a damn because they think that their seats are safe.
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I’m not sure how resident stickers will help, but something must be done to help the OG residents. This is not just a summer problem. Last Saturday (9/19) I knew the folks were running and the British cars were going to be on Main Avenue, but I was blindsided by the radio station’s wingding with bouncy houses and all the trappings of another fair. Who knew that was coming?
So I was distressed to drive back into town around noon after running some errands and find there was no parking. I am over 80 and have trouble walking due to arthritis so I would like to at least be able to park on my street.
Meters? Not sure unless resident stickers would excuse us from paying. Why does Neptune allow large condo facilities to be built without their own parking garage?
One more question–how do we get Central Ave repaved from Seaview to Ocean Pathway?
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Joe: Less pain is better than more pain. I have come to agree with those who say that the Grove is a “cash cow” for Neptune and that Neptune Township should pay more attention to us and to the concerns of the taxpayers at least, and preferably to all residents who live here. They could do something to lessen the pain other than ignore us.
A couple of years ago, Mary Beth Jahn became angry at Blogfinger for daring to “stir the pot” and bring up meters again. The Committee may be sick of this topic, but those of us who live here have to deal with it and could use some help and preferential treatment by our elected officials who serve on behalf of the citizens. Doing nothing is not acceptable. They should do something, and there are many ideas out there. Paul @Blogfinger
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Asbury Park needs to be included in this discussion. I live on Asbury Avenue in OG and notice more than a multitude of people parking their cars (including restaurant workers and NY license plates) and walking over the bridge to AP so they can save a couple of bucks on AP parking. AP loves the revenue but OG residents and taxpayers are suffering for their greed. If AP had free parking, OG would not have such a problem.
Also, the Camp Meeting Association should look at some of the large vacant lots on South Main Street to offer free (or pay) parking and have a shuttle service on event days and weekends. I believe this would benefit OG as a whole. (Although if AP still charges for parking, the “AP cheapos” will use the OG parking if it is free.)
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Just don’t meter every street like every other town. Do Central Ave east. Or just Ocean and Main. Cape May only meters ocean and their shopping district around Washington St with the same kiosks Asbury users and they maintain their Victorian heritage.
While meters would help, there is still a level of “just suck it up” that comes with living in a beach town. What kind of town do you want? It could be like Avon, where the main shopping is on one side of town opposite the beach or we can have a nice central area and parking accordingly. Short of a giant parking deck, there will always be pain in this area
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I have supported the idea of meters. It should be done to help level the playing field; it will also provide funds and be good for merchants. But should Grovers be exempted from paying at the meters?
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Some object to the idea of parking stickers because it won’t work, it’s not fair, it’s not equal, it’s not necessary, it won’t cure the entire problem, the Township Committee won’t talk about it, Tuesdays are fine without it, there’s no guarantee of a space, etc, however no one has said that parking stickers will cause harm.
Why not give the homeowners the benefit of the doubt and let them have a small measure of relief? –Paul @Blogfinger
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I think they should install parking meters in the Grove. We get all weekend people parking to go to Bradley Beach and Asbury Park. Then issue resident parking stickers. I even see all weekend long people coming in with bicycle racks on the rear of their cars. One Sunday I asked someone if they were renting, and they answered “oh no we are only here for the day and park in Ocean Grove because it is free. We bike over to Asbury Park and spend the day.”
While walking the dogs on Sunday morning I see them parking in Ocean Grove because it is free ..Then go onto Bradley Beach…
There is an absolute need for meters and resident stickers, and Main Ave should go back to 2 hour parking like it was…
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I agree that parking stickers don’t guarantee a parking place. My son lives in Newport, RI & the tourists pay no attention to resident parking. They get a ticket but who cares. It does not necessarily resolve the parking issue.
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I just want to say, on Tuesday I parked on Asbury Ave & New Jersey and walked over to the Beer Garden to meet some friends. Easily a half dozen parking spots in my immediate purview and I wasn’t looking too hard
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Fully support resident parking stickers. In addition, I think serious consideration should be given to paid parking for all others during active daytime hours, say from 9 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. Yes, we’d have to have provision from the revenues to police the paid spots, but I’m quite sure that there’d be sufficient revenue to cover that expense.
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I still welcome all our guests who think enough of OG to visit. Brits on the Beach was a wonderful event today. I noticed a number of people looking at the real estate pictures in reality offices. This indicates that people enjoy the experience of our unique town and are curious about available housing. While passing SeaGrass at 9pm there was not a seat to be had. Upon returning home there was adequate parking.
Yes, parking was somewhat difficult during the day, but those cars represented people enjoying our special place. A bit of inconvenience is a small price to pay to maintain a thriving town. Let’s not be hostile to visitors by making parking more difficult. Yes a parking garage would be a remedy but it does not seem likely in the near future. Remember 25 years ago when the town was moribund and parking was plentiful Let’s keep OG welcoming. I’m sure visitors don’t like searching for a space any more than you do. Based upon the previous comments I seem to be the only one putting everyone on equal footing. Are there others sharing my views?
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I went back and retrieved my comment from last time the parking issue was discussed. Re-posting it here:
Gotta move on…….
The Neptune Twp. officials have stated “there will be no more Ocean Grove parking studies.” They have exhausted surveys, and aside from the Chamber stopping advertising and the Camp Mtg. stopping advertising, there will be no change in the crowded parking situation.
It’s basically “love it or leave it.” Even if there were stickers issued, there’s no guarantee you would be able to park any closer to your house than on a crowded weekend. Even adding the spaces on Broadway and turning the tennis lot into a parking lot didn’t help. It just made it more crowded.
You could add 200 more spaces, and still they will come. Because it’s a nice place, the parking is free, and the beach is kept up nicely. No amount of “stickers” or “passes” or “badges” will change the parking in Ocean Grove. The only thing that ever worked was horse and buggies.
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@Paul – Love, love, love the cartoon up top!
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Just keep in mind people— just because you have a resident sticker, doesn’t mean that you will find parking near your home when you come home from work, or the store, or any other time you are referring to in your complaint. Also, what to do about apartment renters, when there are for example 6 apartments in one building? Shouldn’t permanent renters be considered too?
There are no reserved spots. For every one parking space there are 5 more cars (residents) trolling around ready to take the space. Why? Because we are over-saturated. There would not be any guarantee of a space. There is nothing you can do about it, other than move.
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It’s ironic that those of us who actually live here derive the least benefit from those glut-ridden events that raise money or publicity for the Chamber of Commerce merchants, the Camp Meeting, The Jersey Shore Arts Center, Mary’s Place, Meridian mammogram pushers, crafts and flea dealers, etc.
Why won’t the Township Committee consider helping us voters/taxpayers/residents obtain parking relief? Why don’t our elected representatives represent us rather than all those organizations/special interest groups named above?
Somebody won’t like parking stickers, but who cares as long as it helps the actual citizens who live here? It’s about time that the tourists, merchants, etc. take a back seat to citizens when the Committee considers its priorities.
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Look up “Just wondering: Another sticky idea”
Editor’s note: Sticky is referring to this Blogfinger post from one year ago:
https://blogfinger.net/2014/09/15/just-wondering-another-sticky-idea/
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Sounds like badgering the Township Committee is a good start. What would resident parking stickers do and how would they work?
We’re all in favor of some sort of relief to the parking problem considering the amount of taxes the homeowners are now paying. It used to be a bigger problem on the first 2 beach blocks, but now, with the growth in AP, any place near the footbridges has become impossible as well.
Is the problem only on week-ends?
Paul, you are right – the “season” has become close to 6 months.
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Parking is Ocean Grove’s most contentious issue. Residents who commute or lead active life styles are increasingly frustrated. I think that the lack of parking is one of the contributing factors to the lessened revenue that the OGCMA is reporting for there summer shows.
As I have stated before in previous comments, it is unrealistic to think that the status quo can continue. Ten years ago Asbury Park was our overflow parking destination; now we are theirs.
As I write this I am awaiting my wife’s arrival so we can unload groceries in the middle of the street and then start the search for a spot. Permits please!
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I agree. Something needs to be done. Now that Asbury park is busier and charges for parking, many are using OG as a free parking lot and walking over to AP.
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I, for one, absolutely agree that there should be resident parking, perhaps on one side of each street, to give us a fighting chance.
It is maddening in this town, especially with events every weekend including in the spring and fall. The “season” is much longer than two months. Plus, events like the Flea Market draw a hundred exhibitors or more with trucks, which take up half the parking in the North End, and events like the car shows close Main Avenue.
As a longtime (15+ years) resident of Olin Street, I would welcome some attention paid by the Township to the homeowners who pay exhorbitant taxes for basically nothing (no break on beach passes, no resident parking, $500/year for sewer on top of taxes, etc etc etc etc).
Even if I could PAY for a resident sticker I would do it.
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