Disregard for Parking Regulations
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
On the "Good News" side, for those who are on bicycle or who couldn't afford to buy a car with a speedometer included, there is a new device on Prospect that will tell you how fast you are going.
Of course, your driving will be distracted while you are looking at it.
More distracting than looking at, say, a speed limit sign?
Recently someone parked in a non-space in front of Maplewood Stationers and was approached by a traffic enforcement guy. Pointing to the store, the driver's excuse was, "I know someone who works there."
joan_crystal said:
Formerlyjerseyjack said:There is no old traffic bureau. This is a new initiative.
How will the new Traffic Bureau differ from the old traffic bureau?
Its first business should be to get rid of the pedestrian traffic stanchion traffic hazards on Prospect and Ridgewood --- or at least, take less than two or three days to remove the dead ones after they have been creamed while doing their job and lying flat on the roadway.
Unless they hired some new personnel, how does this differ from what they were already doing for traffic control?
apple44 said:
Recently someone parked in a non-space in front of Maplewood Stationers and was approached by a traffic enforcement guy. Pointing to the store, the driver's excuse was, "I know someone who works there."
It's good to be connected. Seems the mafia is alive and well in Maplewood.
soda said:
OK, I asked for photos, so I guess I should supply one. This happened in the parking lot of the S.O. Muni Offices a couple of years ago. I'm sure no public officials were to blame...
-s.
The irony, of course, is that those spots are not for the South Orange municipal offices, so if the person who posted this was parked in that lot on SO business, they were parked illegally.
when I see the Facebook discussions on driving and parking in the village, I'm tempted to say the township should just give up. The citizens seem to think driving and parking anyway you please is a-ok. So lets just give in -- park anywhere you like, drive the wrong way down a one-way, turn left into head-in spaces, drive on the left side of the road. Whatever. You do you! Wheeeee!
I see the SOPD, with at least some regularity, attempting to displace double-parked and illegally parked vehicles at some downtown problem areas -- Sloan Street, the non-spot in front of Trattoria, and the little street where the newsstand and Pandang are.
Does MPD not do this? I'd think it would be easy, wouldn't;t even need to make patrols just for this, but anytime a MPD cruiser is driving by on Maplewood Ave downtown, check for parking jacka$$ery and enforce the laws.
ml1 said:
when I see the Facebook discussions on driving and parking in the village, I'm tempted to say the township should just give up. The citizens seem to think driving and parking anyway you please is a-ok. So lets just give in -- park anywhere you like, drive the wrong way down a one-way, turn left into head-in spaces, drive on the left side of the road. Whatever. You do you! Wheeeee!
We should try it as an experiment. For one day, anyway you want to park is legal. Sort of like "The Purge", but just with cars.
nohero said:
ml1 said:We should try it as an experiment. For one day, anyway you want to park is legal. Sort of like "The Purge", but just with cars.
when I see the Facebook discussions on driving and parking in the village, I'm tempted to say the township should just give up. The citizens seem to think driving and parking anyway you please is a-ok. So lets just give in -- park anywhere you like, drive the wrong way down a one-way, turn left into head-in spaces, drive on the left side of the road. Whatever. You do you! Wheeeee!
residents are already doing this. But only on days that end in Y.
What about residential street parking? Parking in front of driveways and parking on the wrong side of the road? Just last week I could not get into my drive. A car was blocking it. This is a residential neighborhood.There were no other cars parked nearby. The driver does not think,just stops anywhere.
FilmCarp said:
soda said:The irony, of course, is that those spots are not for the South Orange municipal offices, so if the person who posted this was parked in that lot on SO business, they were parked illegally.
OK, I asked for photos, so I guess I should supply one. This happened in the parking lot of the S.O. Muni Offices a couple of years ago. I'm sure no public officials were to blame...
-s.
I grabbed the shot (on my way out of the proper lot) as I headed for the drive-through bank window, and thence to the street...
-s.
yahooyahoo said:
joan_crystal said:Unless they hired some new personnel, how does this differ from what they were already doing for traffic control?
Formerlyjerseyjack said:There is no old traffic bureau. This is a new initiative.
How will the new Traffic Bureau differ from the old traffic bureau?
Its first business should be to get rid of the pedestrian traffic stanchion traffic hazards on Prospect and Ridgewood --- or at least, take less than two or three days to remove the dead ones after they have been creamed while doing their job and lying flat on the roadway.
At the very least, this organizational change should result in staff being dedicated to resolving the problem and a more coordinated effort as pertains to traffic control.
Smedley said:
I see the SOPD, with at least some regularity, attempting to displace double-parked and illegally parked vehicles at some downtown problem areas -- Sloan Street, the non-spot in front of Trattoria, and the little street where the newsstand and Pandang are.
Does MPD not do this? I'd think it would be easy, wouldn't;t even need to make patrols just for this, but anytime a MPD cruiser is driving by on Maplewood Ave downtown, check for parking jacka$$ery and enforce the laws.
MPD does not do this.
Happened to be in SO this morning and decided to stop and treat myself to a Starbucks, sorry “author”. Coming from the round about toward SO Ave, a car was attempting to turn left into a spot in front on Stony’s, but since I was headed there, I beat him to it and found great pleasure in giving him the proverbial finger, though I really didn’t do that
About 10 minutes ago, car stopped on Maplewood Avenue to pick up passengers -- adjacent to the No Stopping or Standing Sign.
Mel Brooks: "Its good to be the king."
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
On the "Good News" side, for those who are on bicycle or who couldn't afford to buy a car with a speedometer included, there is a new device on Prospect that will tell you how fast you are going.
I came across one of those speed limit devices in Pennsylvania. I was going about 3 miles above the speed limit. The unit posted my speed, underneath, "Naughty."
I'm not sure if that would encourage speeding. I recall when I was teaching and I had a substitute. She began her classes by writing "Silly" and "Helpful" on the board and filling the kids' names on whichever list she felt was warranted.
Every kid wanted to be on the silly list.
DaveSchmidt said:
Formerlyjerseyjack said:More distracting than looking at, say, a speed limit sign?
On the "Good News" side, for those who are on bicycle or who couldn't afford to buy a car with a speedometer included, there is a new device on Prospect that will tell you how fast you are going.
Of course, your driving will be distracted while you are looking at it.
Well, yes. Whether or not it’s too distracting is a different question.
I don’t find them useful unless they’re placed anywhere near a speed limit sign.
ctrzaska said:
DaveSchmidt said:Well, yes. Whether or not it’s too distracting is a different question.
More distracting than looking at, say, a speed limit sign?
Driving 25 to 35 m.p.h., I feel like I’m in a good place for absorbing flashing lights (numeric, red or yellow, on bicycles, atop emegency vehicles, etc.) without hazard.
When you walk down Maplewood Ave in the village you can tell whether the cars made an illegal left turn into the diagonals by the way the front wheels are still turned.
The police may want to have official notices printed up to put on those cars windshields reminding them that such a move is both a moving violation AND a parking violation and what it will cost them in points and fines if observed doing it next time.
Meanwhile this afternoon, I was turning into the lot by Starbucks and an oblivious guy drove out the entrance the wrong way AGAIN.
DaveSchmidt said:
ctrzaska said:Driving 25 to 35 m.p.h., I feel like I’m in a good place for absorbing flashing lights (numeric, red or yellow, on bicycles, atop emegency vehicles, etc.) without hazard.
DaveSchmidt said:Well, yes. Whether or not it’s too distracting is a different question.
More distracting than looking at, say, a speed limit sign?
Thus, the separate question.
I’m always trying to figure out how far off the signs are from my actual speed. Easier in my other car than the one I’m currently driving around, but looking up and down is something I often do when confronted with them.
Related note: The ones on Parker and Prospect appear to be about 3mph under.
ctrzaska said:
DaveSchmidt said:Thus, the separate question.
ctrzaska said:Driving 25 to 35 m.p.h., I feel like I’m in a good place for absorbing flashing lights (numeric, red or yellow, on bicycles, atop emegency vehicles, etc.) without hazard.
DaveSchmidt said:Well, yes. Whether or not it’s too distracting is a different question.
More distracting than looking at, say, a speed limit sign?
I’m always trying to figure out how far off the signs are from my actual speed. Easier in my other car than the one I’m currently driving around, but looking up and down is something I often do when confronted with them.
Related note: The ones on Parker and Prospect appear to be about 3mph under.
No wonder peoples on Parker always driving close behind me, blowin' their horn to get out of the way.
ctrzaska said:
Related note: The ones on Parker and Prospect appear to be about 3mph under.
What's that on a percentage basis? Are we talking showing "22" when the speed is "25", or "47" when someone is going "50"? 
ctrzaska said:
I’m always trying to figure out how far off the signs are from my actual speed. Easier in my other car than the one I’m currently driving around, but looking up and down is something I often do when confronted with them.
Hey! I do that, too, with speed limit signs that don’t flash.
DaveSchmidt said:
ctrzaska said:Hey! I do that, too, with speed limit signs that don’t flash.
I’m always trying to figure out how far off the signs are from my actual speed. Easier in my other car than the one I’m currently driving around, but looking up and down is something I often do when confronted with them.
But do the speeds change? No fun otherwise.
DaveSchmidt said:
ctrzaska said:Hey! I do that, too, with speed limit signs that don’t flash.
I’m always trying to figure out how far off the signs are from my actual speed. Easier in my other car than the one I’m currently driving around, but looking up and down is something I often do when confronted with them.
I learned that my speedometer was 4 MPH too slow in my old car by testing it against a number of these signs. I liked that I could feel like I was going faster but still be close to the speed limit. I learned that most are correct in my new car, especially the one on Ridgewood at Cameron Field/Flood's Hill. I'll have to check out the one on Prospect.
I decided to do some research. The Maplewood PD writes over 700 parking tickets on average every month and approximately 250 moving violations.
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OK, I asked for photos, so I guess I should supply one. This happened in the parking lot of the S.O. Muni Offices a couple of years ago. I'm sure no public officials were to blame...
-s.