Ocean Grove Parking: What's A Town To Do?

NEPTUNE, NJ - Those gathered at Neptune High School Monday made it perfectly clear: a proposal drafted by Committee Member Carol Rizzo was far from perfect. But is there a perfect plan that would require Ocean Grove residents to pay for parking permits that would only slightly increase the possibility they could find parking hear their homes?

And what about other residents of Neptune who like to go into the Grove occasionally to enjoy the beach? Is it fair to make their hunt for parking that much harder? Then there is the business district. Merchants say they favor a measure designed to increase turnover but they don't want the tourists chased out of Ocean Grove because the money they bring with them helps the merchants survive. The Great Auditorium does not support making it harder to for their guests to find parking.

With all these complex moving parts, it is no surprise there was no consensus at Monday's workshop meeting designed to get committee and community input regarding the possibility of a pilot study this summer that would mandate Ocean Grove property owners buy permits to see if that could alleviate the parking nightmares in the historic Ocean Grove district.

"Asbury Park's success has become a nightmare for Ocean Grove residents as visitors park for free, taking valuable space from residents and tourists who would spend money in Ocean Grove,' reads Rizzo's summary. "The problem is exacerbated beyond the summer for the North End as Asbury Park events extend well into October.

"Adding to the problem, Asbury Park workers park in the North End on a daily basis," the summary reads. "On the southside, Bradley Beach has implemented paid parking and visitors to Bradley are parking in the Grove. Parking for Ocean Grove residents during the summer has become a nightmare for many. The lack of driveways and allocated parking for residents means they become prisoners in their own homes, especially on Thursdays through Sunday weekends.

"We cannot keep making the perfect the enemy of the good," said Rizzo noting for at least 10 years officials have discussed Ocean Grove parking problems but have not resolved them, aside from finding a few extra spaces here and there.

Her plan simply increases the probability of finding a space. It does not guarantee a space. While some residents said Neptune should look toward Asbury as a guide, officials here rejected that, saying Asbury hired its own expert and Neptune is disinclined toward that solution.

Rizzo's proposal includes these factoids: There are 3,049 residential units in Ocean Grove, of which 1,734 are occupied year-round. There are 3,015 full-time residents, half of whom live alone. Their median age is 53. Some 1,055 residents are older than 62 and 815 are above the age of 65. Almost 70 percent are women. Density is the second highest on the Jersey Shore.

Take that math and apply life to it, Rizzo says: Too many elderly people feel trapped, not leaving their homes even for critical trips such as doctor appointments or to refill medications for fear they will lose their parking spot or be unable to find another.

"The township has to go forward" on parking reform, Rizzo said. "I will put it that way."

Michael Hoffman, who lives on Cookman Avenue in the Grove got on the line to speak in support of the parking proposal. His line was much shorter and officials estimated of the 200 people in the auditorium, 50 wanted a chance to speak about the issue.

"I support the proposal," said Hoffman noting that Center City in Philadelphia also has a parking plan that does not entitle the rest of Philadelphia to park there. "I don't think it is a comprehensive plan. It is a first step," he said.

Monica Kowalski of Neptune does not like the plan. Further, she said, while Rizzo could author the plan, she likely could not vote on it because Rizzo lives in the North End and the state Ethics Law prohibits her from voting on anything in which she would personally benefit and the possibility of a parking space could be viewed as a personal benefit or one for her family.

"It is a bad idea because you would have to revise your ordinances," Kowalski said of the pre-existing limits on parking regulations in the Grove.

Some behavior related to the lack of parking is dangerous such as cars that are parking in fire zones; people getting aggressive and slashing tires of cars that have overstayed their welcomes or "reserving spaces" by putting traffic cones, garbage cans or lawn chairs in the street.

"These behaviors and a general decrease in civility affects how welcoming our town feels to tourists," Rizzo's summary maintains.

After weighing whether to conduct a pilot parking study in the whole of Ocean Grove, Rizzo recommended the pilot be reserved to the North Side, described as from Wesley Lake through to Heck Avenue, which it would include as north-to-south boundaries and the Ocean Grove Gates to Ocean Avenue, east to west where there are 1,025 spaces.

Rizzo proposes permit parking on one side of the street except for the streets near the lake, Asbury Park and the North End condominiums and apartments. Under the pilot program, a commercial zone from Main Avenue to Central to New York Avenue would have two-to-three hour parking between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Permits would be one to a family depending on popularity. If there are extras, the town could consider allowing more than one permit. There would be no physical permits. Instead, the property owner would enter his or her license plates into a license reader which a special law enforcement officer would use in the summer mainly on weekends from May 15 to Sept.15.

The cost for the pilot is $100,000 or so. Any ticket revenue would go to the police department. The pilot is not intended to make money, only break even. Permits would likely cost $70 to $90 in the first year but if the pilot is successful, the cost would go down in the second year to $20 0r $30.

Neptune long has studied the issue of Ocean Grove parking without coming to an viable action plan, officials said. For those property owners who cannot afford the permits, officials would decide those on a case-by-case basis. Bed and breakfasts and other hotels would have a number of permits that would be used by patrons on a rotating basis. People who live in the tents in the summer also would be entitled to a permit.

Officials stressed this is only one plan and that it is an experimental one. If it fails, they would consider other solutions.

People line up to speak in opposition to the proposed parking plan. On the other side of the auditorium, a slighter shorter line was comprised of people who supported the measure. Photograph by Carol Gorga Williams/Patch Staff.