No more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ at Middletown station

By doug mckenzie

Staff Writer

To help alleviate Middle-town’s well-publicized parking problem at the train station, the Police Department is planning to begin citing illegally parked vehicles on a more frequent basis.

The township also plans to prohibit parking in some parking lot areas to eliminate traffic bottlenecks.

Mayor Rosemarie Peters visited the Middletown-Lincroft Road lot Friday with Middletown Police Chief John Pollinger to look at a number of areas where commuters are parking illegally, which causes traffic problems when commuters are trying to exit the lot at the end of the work day.

"We were looking at an area near one of the entrances where traffic seems to get backed up," she said. "We’re now looking to prohibit parking in a couple of areas that will affect a small number of cars."

Peters said on some days there are parking spots available in the back of the lot; however, commuters are parking illegally in order to be closer to the station.

"We’re planning to phase in enforcement gradually as we find alternatives," she said. "I suppose the lot has been so wide open for so long that people feel you can park anywhere. ... And the police department has exercised a tremendous restraint in issuing citations."

Peters added that the township is monitoring the parking situation on a daily basis and is counting the number of illegally parked cars, as well as the number of spots that remain empty.

The township is also looking at other towns along the NJ Transit rail line which are dealing with the same problem, while deciding upon a solution.

In Hazlet, for example, the Township Committee is currently in discussions with NJ Transit about buying land for additional parking in an attempt to solve its overcrowding problem. Hazlet Township currently has a seven-year waiting period for permits to park in the township-owned lot.

Peters said that Middletown will have to act fast in solving the parking problem.

"We need to make a decision about how to address this for next year by April," she said, pointing out that applications for renewals of parking permits are sent out in May.

The township has already placed a freeze on the sale of its permits for the main lot; however, commuters can still purchase permits for parking at the station’s satellite lot at the Sears store on Kings Highway.

In addition, the township has extended the hours of its shuttle bus service from the Sears lot to provide day-long service.

Peters said the township is looking to gain additional spots at Sears because it recognizes the importance of maintaining the sale of permits for that lot.

"People are always looking for permits, whether they’re kids just out of college or people changing jobs," she said. "We hate to turn them down. We want to encourage people to use mass transit as a way of keeping cars off of our already clogged roadways."