Neptune residents 'crying out' for help with annual parking problems
NEPTUNE - Despite significant support from residents, the Neptune Township Committee has yet to formally implement a new residential parking program in Ocean Grove.
Many of those residents packed Township Hall during Monday's regular committee meeting, concerned that the township was listening to the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which opposes the parking permits, instead of residents.
The pilot program, designed to make parking easier for residents, did not appear on the evening's agenda.
"It actually doesn't matter if I'm for or against the proposal today because it wasn't even on the agenda and I found that extremely disappointing," one former resident of Ocean Grove said.
The Township Parking Subcommittee presented the proposal for the Ocean Grove Residential Parking Program at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove in late January.
The pilot program would have two zones limited to the northwest section of Ocean Grove, covering roughly 15% of the community, a large enough area to yield meaningful results after one year, according to the Better Parking Alliance.
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According to the subcommittee, the plan would make it easier for Ocean Grove's roughly 3,000 year-round residents to park closer to their homes during the busy summer tourist season.
The parking subcommittee was led by Deputy Mayor Tassie York and included representatives from the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, the Ocean Grove Chamber of Commerce, the Better Parking Alliance and resident Shane Martins.
Martins said the majority of the subcommittee voted to launch the residential parking permit program, but the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns the unincorporated community, opposed the plan.
Joyce Klein, the vice president of the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association, and a member of the parking subcommittee, said informal offers were made to Michael Badger, president of the camp meeting association, to resolve the issue regarding permits for its tenters, the seasonal residents who come each year.
But so far, no agreement has been reached.
Martins said he plans to be "at every meeting speaking about this until this permit pilot is workshopped and on the agenda."
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Resident JP Thompson asked the township committee to seriously consider the pilot program.
"It is time to step up and it is time to try something and not just give it lip service," Thompson said.
Resident Cindy Williams said she didn't know what the committee was doing.
"I was so upset that the parking pilot was not (on the agenda). The residents of Ocean Grove have been crying out for help with parking for over a decade," she said.
"Residential and permit parking are legal. They're also the norm in the shore towns. I think we are one of two towns that don't have residential permit parking and tourism is just fine on the Jersey Shore I can guarantee you that," Williams said.
Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean Grove NJ residents waiting on Neptune for parking program
