overnight parking archived

Try calling the Police station. If you let them know ahead of time, and tell them the location of your car and plate number they will not ticket you.

Kit,
I think you can park in the NJ Transit lot on the park-side of the Maplewood Station overnight. I KNOW you can't park on Dunnell Rd. by the park overnight...I got a ticket at ten past two AM once after having taken a late train from Hoboken. (The judge thought it was absurd that the police should come out of the station right after 2 AM and start ticketing people coming from the city or Hoboken on a late train.) You should call the police department and ask. Perhaps call the S.O. Parking Authority too to inquire about its transit lot. And, there may be different rules on weekends. Good luck. Post what you find out too, please.

I don't believe that there is any location that is officially OK for overnight parking. However, as shh says, you can call the police station regarding a particular night and let them know that you are parked at the station or wherever, and it should be fine for the one night.

Park in a well lighted area -- we do the Ricalton lot - and call the police and tell them yourt plate number and location. No matter where you park you MUST call!

Amen to this category.

It baffles me that this town does not have parking stickers or other ways to designate residents from nonresident. When i was made aware of this law before moving here, I seriously had to weigh my options.

I'm honestly shocked that the police waited until 2:01am to give parking tickets. This is clearly a law or ordinance whose time has passed. The purpose does not jibe with the growth and new changes in the town.

I'm the first one to sign petition to repeal the overnight parking ordinance. There should be some way to fix this problem without having to seek permission from town police to park. Don't we pay enough in taxes!!!!!!

**...for many reasons overnight street parking is absolutely a no no!**

On the other hand, there was conversation about extending the street and parking lot time restrictions around the train station and the the village business district until 3AM. I thought it was a good idea, but don't know what happened to it???

"I'm the first one to sign petition to repeal the overnight parking ordinance. There should be some way to fix this problem"

Fix what problem? AJC posted the only good idea I've seen. Sync parking with the trains.

Sounds like you want Maplewood to look like Brooklyn.

It would be easier for you to move back to Brooklyn.

The overnight parking ordinance serves a very good purpose. In many towns (including several on our borders) that do not have this ordinance or do not enforce it, there is essentially "permanent" parking on many streets which can impact safety and certainly impacts the feel of the neighborhood. While I would not oppose a designated overnight parking lot or area, particularly near the train, I do not think that the general prohibition against overnight street parking should be repealed for that reason.

The overnight parking ordinance is a relic from the 1920's when families had only one car. If we worry about safety, allow parking on only one side of the street and emergency personnel solving a problem or going on a donut run can easily get through.

i don't want to replicate brooklyn, but the ordinance is clearly outdated.

The fear that border residents will park or leave cars in town can be fixed with realistic solution. Hard to believe town where there is plenty of change is still holding on to 1920s ordinance. I wouldn't oppose designated parking lot for overnight parking for residents.

Actually, my mention of bordering towns was a demonstration of the potential results of not having the ordinance, not refering to non-residents parking in town. My fear is that too many residents of our own town would park on the street, creating the same kind of unsightly and potentially hazardous streetscapes you can see now in Irvington, Vaux Hall, etc. And, my concerns re hazardous are not primarily about emergency vehicles getting through but rather a less safe environment for pelple walking through the neighborhoods with all of those cars parked the entire length of the street. Do you really want your neighborhood streets to look like that all the time?

I am entirely supportive of providing overnight parking permits for those (relatively few) residents who actually need them due to lack of driveway, etc. as well as setting up some legal overnight parking in certain designated areas. I think that those accommodations, coupled with the current procedure whereby you can call the police department for specific nights, would more than cover any legitimate overnight parking needs.

Just because the ordinance is old, doesn't mean that it isn't a good law.

The night parking ordinance is great.

Sometime in the deep dark past someone in the know told me that the overnight parking regulation is to keep houses from being illegally converted to multi-family dwellings. It is hard to rent an apartment without parking. I believe that the Township does issue permits for those who don't have a driveway. As Sac indicated there aren't all that many such houses here.

In this day and age where many people have three or four cars it might make sense to issue permits for street parking to residents since, to put it mildly, jockeying cars in the driveway isn't a lot of fun, especially at 6:00am.

In West Orange we have the same regulation. However, it doesn't apply on some blocks where there are apartment houses or old mill workers house with no driveways.

Most of the towns around here (at least to the west) have the overnight parking rule. When I lived in Berkeley Heights, one of the officers told me it made it easier for them to spot cars that "didn't belong."

I think this ordinance has it's drawbacks. After having signed up with the police for a number of weeks while we had a dumpster in our driveway, I had to go out of town due to a death in the family. One day before I returned, the maximum two week registration for parking on the street expired, and I was ticketed. It was obvious there was no room in the driveway due to the dumpster. The police knew our car belonged to the house due to our registration with the police department for the previous several weeks. They also had several weeks of experience with our car on the street at night in front of the house. I went to the police department, explained the circumstances and was unable to get out of it. I felt like we were improving our house and community and was surprised to be penalized for it. We pay a lot property taxes to have an overzealous police department and little ability to park on the street when needed. I'd prefer they spend time on real crime and safety issues.

The law office (not me) at 108 Baker has a sign advertising off-street overnight parking.

'I believe that the Township does issue permits for those who don't have a driveway.'

Actually those permits are SOLD (about $240 per year, I think) and there about 14 houses in Maplewood without driveways.

And you are only allowed ONE permit per household, NO EXCEPTIONS. How many two income families have only one car? Go to Town Hall and try to get a second permit for spouse, you'll find that you are S.O.L. This rule is a relic of the 1920's and needs to change. But there are so few driveway-less houses, we don't have much clout.

I don't have a problem with the overnight parking rules in general, but they should at least allow houses without driveways to get more than ONE on-street permit.

Am not sure what rule is, but lot on Woodland Rd. next to the Women's Club, particularly the area of the lot closest to Maplewood Avenue, seems to have cars there all the time overnight, without tickets. Maybe they call Police Dept. in advance, am not sure.

C'mon, maplewoodperson, re: above remarks about Maplewood looking like Brooklyn, I know both areas and think they are both phenomenal in their different ways. Suggesting that someone move out of Maplewood (or whatever you were trying to say) merely for expressing his/her opinion really seems pretty uncalled for.

Although I've gotten a ticket for overnight parking (I didn't know about calling the cops. I assumed the yellow caution tape and cones would be enough to idetify our new driveway & sidewalk as reasons for my parking in the street), I agree with the ordinance. Otherwise, how would snow plowing and street cleaning occur if a bunch of cars were parked everywhere. Also, I can name two neighbors on my street who utilize the driveways of other neighbors for their "flip cars". One of them has more than five cars and a motorcycle, no two of them working at any given time. If there was no ban on overnight parking, certain streets in town would be filled to the brim with broken down cars under repair.

FTR - we were a two income family with only one car (I'm staying home with our daughter until she's two). DH takes the Jitney to the train station since his work hours allow it and I use the car when I need it. You don't NEED two cars with two incomes if someone worksa typical workday in NYC.

Neither of us works in NYC. Hubby works in Union and Newark, very odd hours, plus he is a student in Plainfield. I do work local, and sometimes I will walk to work, but I do need reliable access to a car (for personal reasons) so borrowing one or using hubby's car would not be workable in my situation. We've worked out an agreement with the neighbors as far a parking goes, but I really wish the town would just allow us (for $240 per year, mind you) a second little sticker to put on hubby's car. I don't expect to be allowed to have permits for five or six cars on the street, but just one car?

I find it funny that most agree with the ordinance but there are many reasons cited for it. The multitude of reasons tempts me to disbelieve them!

I paid my yearly parking permit. The woman who helped me was very polite and pleasant to deal with. There was someone else at Town Hall who wasn't so nice. There is now sales tax on parking permits. I just said "ok" since I knew this was not their doing, sales tax is a state tax, not a local tax. A clerk sitting down about 20 feet away starts yelling that it's not their fault, that they don't get the money, they have no control over this, etc... I was a little confused about the yelling since I hadn't questioned or complained about the sales tax at all and I had no trouble hearing her even though she was 20 feet away. I then politely asked the woman helping me if I could apply for a second permit (I knew I couldn't, but figured what's the harm in asking). Before she could reply, the seated woman again YELLS that there is only one permit per household. I inquired about applying for a variance. Again, the reply is YELLED at me that I couldn't even try to apply for a variance. The nice woman helping me just looked in the direction of the yelling woman, and then shot me a sympathetic glance.

Tom,

I don't think most agree with the ordinance.

With the redevelopment of Springfield Avenue, I want to know what condo owners on Springfield Avenue are gonna do when they hear about this ordinance? Will people really want to move there given the parking issues? Stats show that most homes have more than 1 car. Town only allows 1 parking permit per household. Doesn' make sense?

Town should not wait until New York Times gets hold of this. Do something about this now?

I'm all for the law.

This ordinance is far from new. It has been on the books for many years and serves a valuable crime prevention function as well as positively contributing to the quality of life issues raised by some of the above posters.

Developers on SA should take this ordinance into account in their planning and realtors should make prospective home buyers aware of the impact of this ordinance where houses lack a driveway.

Spontaeous: Did you know about this ordinance when you purchased your home?

High 5 .... Robmatt

Posted By: robmattAm not sure what rule is, but lot on Woodland Rd. next to the Women's Club, particularly the area of the lot closest to Maplewood Avenue, seems to have cars there all the time overnight, without tickets. Maybe they call Police Dept. in advance, am not sure.

C'mon, maplewoodperson, re: above remarks about Maplewood looking like Brooklyn, I know both areas and think they are both phenomenal in their different ways. Suggesting that someone move out of Maplewood (or whatever you were trying to say) merely for expressing his/her opinion really seems pretty uncalled for.

Yes, I was aware. Buying a house without a driveway was the only way I could afford to buy in Maplewood. I also feel that sometimes laws should change. I'm not saying that we should just drop all the restrictions so we end up like Union, but there should be some flexibility. Also, because of some people on my street that abused the overnight privilege, there are now NO overnight guests allowed on my street. I tried to call in a U-Haul truck once, DENIED! Give me a break, I was moving in, not throwing a party!

Also, I understand that there is an ordinance, I just didn't like being yelled at for asking if I could apply for a variance. What's the harm in asking? And I was very polite when I asked, no attitude.

We have a tiny, short driveway and can squeeze four cars in.

For all the reasons cited above (AJC, SAC, etc.), I agree with the overnight parking rule. It is, above all else, a safety factor with our dark streets.

I do think that parking in the vicinity of the train station should be extended until 2:30a, tho. As it is, it is nothing but a revenue stream, penalizing late commuters (in our town which sells itself as commuter friendly).

Years ago, when I lived in a town without parking restrictions, there was a guy on our block who collected cars. He kept 5 on our street. How many cars do people have? Are there that many people who have more than 2 or 3 cars? Or are these folks with tandem driveways who don't like being inconvenienced? Did the sellers change the driveway configuration between the time you put an offer on the house and closed?

There is a certain charm and feel to this town, which is why many people moved here. We did our research, found out that it is the Land of No and chose to buy here, feeling that these ordinances keep the place safe and property values up.

If there were any movement to allow 24 hour parking, I'd be the first one on the committee to fight it.

It's a little funny that a town full of ersatz urban hipsters is so afraid of cars parking on the street. But whatever. (I don't see how it's any safer for my wife to walk home from the train station after work at 10pm, or how it's safer for my kids to play during the day, when cars are allowed to park on the street until 2am.)

I do think that if you have a driveway, it's not a terrible sacrifice that you use it instead of the street; but I think there should be a system setup such that those (admitedly few) residences without access to a driveway should be permitted to have two (not one) allowances to park to cars on the street. It's not unusual for a family with two working parents to have two cars - in fact, I'd say it's the norm.

And spontaneous - I highly doubt that the police are within their authority to unilaterally ban guest overnight parking for everyone on your street just because some residents in the past may have abused it. If the town laws permit residents to have access to street parking for temporary overnight guests, then every resident must be treated equally under the law, not subject to the whims of the police department as to who deserves town privileges or not. The police carry out the law, they don't make it.

In fact, when I called for temporary guest parking once, the police dispatcher told me that parking was banned on my street too, until I argued with her and eventually she "let me" have a guest park on the street overnight. I've called for guest parking several times since then and haven't had a problem, although I'm always waiting to hear that my street has been blacklisted again. I'm sure we live in the same part of town. Rest assured the temporary guest parking allowance is available for those with large driveways in the better parts of town ... it's mostly just snobbery and a little bit of discrimination, but hey, since it's only economic discrimination, it's all good ...