Back-In/ Angled Parking Comes To Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion

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By Chris Rotolo

MONMOUTH BEACH – Borough officials say a new rule at the parking lot of the Bathing Pavilion will improve safety.

But some patrons see the change from a different angle. At the borough commissioners’ meeting Tuesday attended by about 50 borough residents and pavilion users, Roy Larsen of Wanamassa made an emotional plea to reverse a recently announced switch to back-in, angled parking, which the borough notified residents to May 20.

“Right now my wife and I are just about 70 years old and she came to me and said, ‘I can’t back up a car into one of those spots.’ She can’t physically do it. She said, ‘If you can’t drive me to the beach, I can’t go.’ This is an emotional thing for us because it’s a place she loves so much, and access is being restricted,” Larsen said, to support from the audience.

In the May 20 announcement, the borough included an instructional YouTube video from the city of Carlsbad, California explaining the process for properly maneuvering a vehicle into one of the newly designed reverse angle parking spaces.

There are 48 of these spaces on site, all of which are 18 feet long.

Once an open parking space is identified, patrons are prompted to flip on their blinker, pull past the spot and back in.

The instructional video is an example of how reverse angle parking spots against a curb or sidewalk – opposed to parallel or perpendicular spaces – can generate more parking opportunities on a main street or in a downtown area. This type of space also makes for easier exiting, offering drivers a clear line of site when reentering the flow of traffic.

Despite pushback from some residents who believe the reverse-angle structure won’t work in the pavilion’s confined lot, where patrons are expected to back up against another vehicle or a fence, rather than a curb or sidewalk, Mayor Sue Howard was adamant the borough would move forward with its plan for the duration of the season.

“At this point, no, there will be no reconsideration. This is what we’re doing. And I believe you’re going to see positive results,” Howard said when asked if a petition would prompt her to rethink the new procedure.

Howard cited safety precautions, claiming the change was made to protect the lives of children scurrying through the lot unattended and unaware of their surroundings.

Though she conceded the new structure has not been well received, she offered examples of other recent cultural alterations made in the name of safety, such as the seatbelt, which were once ridiculed before widespread acceptance.

“Aside from seatbelts, another thing is, back in the ’90s, after the first school shooting occurred, the decision was made to lock the doors at Monmouth Beach School. People were livid. Now doors are locked and we have armed officers in our schools. You make changes when you have the opportunity to make them. They’re not always going to be popular at the time. But in retrospect, it’s the right thing to do,” Howard said.

Howard noted the concept of reverse angle parking was introduced to her when she began working at Bell Labs in Holmdel in 1972. According to the mayor, the 6,000 Bell Labs employees were required to park reverse angle and were issued warnings before termination if violations of the mandate continued.

Howard said she researched several studies of municipalities that had successfully implemented identical parking programs, including Asbury Park and Hoboken.

Additionally, the mayor said she consulted with Monmouth Beach Police Chief Thomas C. Walsh. Howard claimed she was given documentation for five motor vehicle accidents in the lot over the past four seasons, none of which involved children.

The lack of a buffer between two vehicles backed up closely to one another, and the difficulty that scenario could cause for the removal of beach chairs and bags from car trunks, was a major point of contention for some residents.

“It’s going to be treacherous,” resident Catherine Russo said.

Lisa Marucci, who paid $45 for a seasonal parking pass at the pavilion, wondered why residents weren’t consulted about the plan and, at the very least, informed about the new parking rules earlier in the year.

“We could have done our own research. We could have had a vote. You made the decision for us,” Marucci said.

There is not yet an ordinance requiring pavilion patrons to abide by reverse angle parking rules, but one has been introduced and is expected to be adopted at the borough commissioners’ June 25 meeting.