Borough Passes PHS Parking Law, Approval by Township Expected

Matthew Hersh

Borough Council unanimously passed an ordinance intended to ameliorate the student parking problem that has plagued the Princeton High School neighborhood for years.

Students and residents alike appeared at Council's meeting last week to voice their opinions about the law that, according to Mayor Joe O'Neill, should "equitably distribute access to parking."

Spearheaded by an ad hoc committee on student parking, the ordinance should at least temporarily improve parking conditions around the high school while lessening what has been described as "rampant" issuing of tickets for prolonged parking and helping protect resident lawns from littering.

Princeton Township Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing next Monday on its version of the parking ordinance, which will impose mandates over areas in the Township where students are known to park. The Princeton Regional School Board will hold a final vote on the ordinance at its August 24 meeting.

The Borough ordinance will implement a student and resident permit parking system that allows parking access on surrounding roads during specific times. Under the new law, from September 1 through June 30, except for Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, residents parking on all or parts of Moore Street, Jefferson Road, and Franklin and Hawthorne Avenue will be prohibited, unless parking decals are in place. Residents will receive free parking decals and guest placards. Permanent parking decals will be placed on the lower left corner of the inside of the vehicle's rear windshield.

Two guest placards will be issued for every permanent resident decal.

Students will be permitted to park on the east side of Walnut Lane between Houghton Road and the Township boundary and on the South side of Guyot Avenue between Moore Street and Walnut Lane. Both roads will allow permit parking between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Students will be able purchase permits for an as-yet-determined fee; however, the Board of Education must pay $10 per permit to whichever municipality governs the respective parking areas. The $10 fee covers the printing and administrative costs involved in implementing the program.

The permit system, as it now stands, waives the former two-hour street-parking limit that forced students to move their cars or else risk getting ticketed.

Unlike the Township ordinance, which is expected to be permanent, the Borough measure will expire July 1 of next year, so that it can be reviewed before being renewed.

The ad hoc committee for high school parking, along with the Borough and the Township, have also consulted with Rider University about increasing the capacity of a gravel lot on the Westminster Choir College campus.

"If a high school student has a permit, he or she is worry free for the rest of the year," Mayor O'Neill said.

The handful of students in attendance, however, expressed concern about carrying heavy loads, such as sporting equipment and musical instruments, several blocks from their cars to the school. One solution offered was that students could unload their cars in front of the building first, and subsequently find parking.

Council members conceded that the ordinance was "not perfect." "We know this (measure) is not the answer to all your problems," said Council President Mildred Trotman.

Councilwoman Peggy Karcher suggested that the school board should also do more to address the efficacy of the busing system. Student complaints regarding that system ranged from the pick-up time, which can be as early as 6:15 a.m., to a lack of effective "late bus" service for students who participate in after-school activities.

Councilwoman Wendy Benchley said that despite inconveniences caused by the new mandates, school-area residents should have "the right to the quiet enjoyment of their residences," a right that "has slipped away" without being effectively addressed by the school board, the PTO, the student council, the students themselves, or the parents. She added that "it falls on us to address it."

Ms. Benchley urged Council to approve the ordinance and begin working out various problems as they arise once the school year begins. While the new laws will be enforced starting September 1, there will be a two-week grace period during which police will issue warnings rather than monetary fines.