MONMOUTH BEACH – A new law entered the books Wednesday at the Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion. It forces patrons to abide by a parking pattern that is leaving some beachcombers baffled and others downright fearful.
Borough resident William McGowan drove to the pavilion Wednesday to take his first shot at the newly mandated back-in angle parking.
After almost clipping a sleek new SUV with Massachusetts plates, McGowan received direction from by-standers in the crowded lot and maneuvered his way between the white lines.
“This was my exercise for the day,” McGowan said with a laugh. “And that’s not even the biggest problem. The biggest problem is the line of traffic I was stuck in when I first pulled in. It’s like an automatic traffic jam. And that’s on a Wednesday. What it will it be like next week for the Fourth of July? I just don’t understand this decision.”
The parking ordinance was passed Tuesday night by the Monmouth Beach commissioners, following a 2-1 vote.
Mayor Sue Howard, who oversees the borough’s beachfront and public safety, cast the deciding “yes” vote. She said the decision was made as a preventative measure, before tragedy strikes.
“We’re not trying to fix vehicle accidents. What we’re trying to fix is kids running out into the driving lanes. We’re trying to avoid something horrible up there,” Howard said.
“I know there are a lot of people that are upset, but we sold 2,500 parking passes up there, and maybe 100 people are here” at the meeting expressing concern, said Howard. “While I respect your opinions, the other people have not reached out to us.”
Howard said what drove her vote was an incident from more than 20 years ago when a vehicle struck and killed a mother and child while they were crossing Ocean Avenue to get to the bathing pavilion.
Retired Monmouth Beach Chief of Police Pat McConville rebutted the mayor’s comment, explaining how that unfortunate incident had nothing to do with the pavilion, let alone the parking pattern.
“I challenge anyone to find anything more than an occasional scratch and dent incident up there. I’ll go back as far as the ’70s. I don’t ever recall an incident of a child being hit or a pedestrian being hit inside the lot. It worked fine. I don’t understand this,” said McConville, who served on the force for 28 years.
During a May meeting of the commissioners Howard cited several studies she had read on back-in angled parking in cities and municipalities across the country.
The mayor said the trend she observed was safer entry into traffic lanes and a decreased number of motor vehicle accidents in parking lots and downtown area street parking.
She also noted New Jersey municipalities like Asbury Park and Hoboken have tested this type of parking.
Commissioner Dave Stickle, who cast the lone opposing vote, said Howard provided him and commissioner Jim Cunniff with six articles.
According to Stickle, none of the articles were written about scenarios inside a parking lot. Additionally, all of the articles referenced situations in which vehicles were backed up to curbing or curb stops so as not to roll too far backward and strike another vehicle, “and several showed scenarios in which there was space behind cars for drivers to access their trunks or open a hatch.”
In its current form, vehicles in the middle row of the pavilion parking lot are not separated by curbing and about two to three feet of space is left between bumpers for patrons to load and unload their vehicles.
According to Howard, from 2015 to 2018 there were five reported motor vehicle accidents in the lot, none of which involved pedestrians being struck.
Since May, when the parking stalls were first repainted to reflect the new pattern, Howard said there was one accident she knew of, but it was not reported to the police or an insurance company.
“What we’ve done here is put fewer people near the lane of traffic,” Howard said. “People are telling me it’s a lot less stressful down there.”
Howard added that anyone who would like a refund for their $45 parking pass could receive one by reaching out to the borough.
The mayor also noted that she would be looking into having parking attendants on hand to help those who find back-in angle parking difficult, especially the senior population.
