In front of the OG Post Office on Nov. 8, 2014. It was just he and I; and we were both gone within 5 minutes. Blogfinger photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
I always say that small talk in a small town is big talk. And so it is regarding our recent debate (post office link ) about parking in front of the Post Office branch in Ocean Grove on Main Avenue. At that location is a 45 foot long “no parking” area extending from the corner of Pilgrim Pathway east along the north side of Main.
The Traffic Officer told us that the space was just for buses. Joe, a citizen commenter, said that the space is for trucks that are servicing businesses around there. Another person said that he got a ticket for pulling his car in to drop off a package at the Post Office. I, for one, sometimes pull in there for about 10 minutes or so to drop something at the PO. I’ve not seen any congestion because of that, but Joe claims that it causes trucks to double park and thus leads to traffic jams for car drivers.
Today we heard from the Traffic Officer who said that he discussed the issue with Rich Cuttrell, Township Clerk. We also spoke to Mr. Cuttrell. It seems that the definition of parking is when you turn off your engine and lock your vehicle. A parked vehicle will be ticketed.
Buses tend to idle, so they are not parked, and trucks are not considered parked if they are loading or unloading “goods and materials.” As for cars, they will not be ticketed if they leave their car running and unlocked. If they do that, the Officer assured me that no ticket will be written.
If you look at the signs, they say “no parking,” “loading zone” and “drop off.” Nowhere do the signs say “car/post office , or truck or bus.” So it seems to me, according to that signage, that any of those categories should be able to pull in to do the temporary task they have in mind as long as they are not “parked.” Mr. Cuttrell agrees that the signage and the ordinance are a bit murky, although he believes that the ordinance was not intended to allow car parking there.
I think that this is an important issue, not only for the convenience of Grovers going into the post office, but for the survival of that beloved historic post office branch. If it is not possible for a car to pull in there to do some post office business, then some people will prefer to drive elsewhere such as Bradley Beach , Ocean or Asbury to do their post office business, and then, eventually, the post office, already limited in its scope, will be closed for lack of business.
THE CYRKLE:
THE CYRCLE