Woodland Road Parking Proposal Defeated

The Maplewood Township Committee voted unanimously Tuesday night against an ordinance that would have increased parking time limits on Woodland Road from three to four hours and allow permit merchant parking on the street.

The 5-0 vote came after seven residents of Woodland Road spoke against the proposed changes, citing a potential increase in traffic and numerous safety issues. Several residents had also spoken at the last township committee meeting, after which the TC decided to table the ordinance until today.

One resident expressed concern that the Marshall School bus would have even greater difficulty turning onto the street with more parked cars, and wondered how the changes would affect the street's bike path. She also said she thought the change from three to four hours would have the unintended effect of making the street de facto all-day parking, with merchants simply moving to a different spot after four hours.

A Maplewood Middle School student said she was opposed to both parts of the ordinance, because "as it is (the street) is hard to cross."

One man asked whether upping the parking limit by one hour would really make a difference to shoppers. Marlon K. Brownlee said that argument struck a chord with him. "I don't have a completely good reason for why we should do this," said Brownlee.

Mayor Vic DeLuca said the ordinance originally was suggested by the Maplewood Village Alliance (MVA) and stemmed from recommendations in the township's parking study, but that the MVA had since agreed allowing merchant parking was not a good idea. 

The committee members all said the residents' arguments had convinced them to vote against the ordinance. After the vote was taken, the residents burst into applause with some calling out, "thank you!"