Council Changes Parking Laws on North Irving, Neighbors Call it 'A Start'

Neighbors along North Irving Street can breathe a little bit easier now that the village council has agreed to change .

In a unanimous decision, the village council–short council members Bernadette Walsh and Paul Aronsohn–passed a measure that will of North Irving from East Ridgewood Ave to Overbrook Road. Previously, there had been prohibited parking at certain hours, but individuals could legally discharge passengers from the north side. No parking on the opposite side is also in effect. The jaywalking across the north side of the street onto Stevens Field created significant traffic safety issues among other concerns, neighbors reported.

The council had in past meetings said the change to North Irving was a council priority and affirmed the decision Wednesday night, instructing Village Manager Ken Gabbert to see if the council can accelerate the process to get the signage ready, expected to take 20 days minimum.

For neighbors of Stevens Field, it can't come soon enough. Still, this doesn't mean their problems are over, they say.

"This is just a start," said Jerry Rossi, who suggested that the Fields Committee, not the Board of Education, be responsible for the hiring of an auxiliary police officer to monitor parking, noise, traffic safety, and littering problems. Rossi also repeated his request for a noise ordinance, "which can be measured quantitatively" and modeled after the DEP's guidelines.

Resident Paul Woodburn provided the council a visual illustration of some of the issues neighbors are facing as use of Stevens intensifies with the bloom of spring.

Woodburn brought pictures documenting the illegal acts of cars parked in residents' driveways, blocking driveways, as well as what he estimated to be 10 lbs. of trash strewn about by participants and spectators. There were also numerous lacrosse balls that peppered his property, he said.

Neighbors also said with jaywalking being a near-constant, and with drivers speeding down the street, public safety was not something to take lightly. One neighbor estimated the total youth participants on a Saturday to be 180. "It is safe to say that on any given Saturday, there is a steady stream of young children crossing a very busy street, running out between parked U.S. SUVs," the woman said.

Cynthia Fitzgerald, a neighbor who has strongly opposed the school's field lighting project at the high school fields as well as the lack of a traffic study to assess the issues, said she doesn't want to continually have to call the police to enforce laws in the neighborhood. Killion recommended Fitzgerald and neighbors schedule a meeting with Police Chief John Ward to better manage enforcement.

Fitzgerald said she's attempted to communicate with the police chief but has not received back a response. The mayor instructed Village Manager Ken Gabbert to have the chief open lines of communication with residents.

"We can control what we can control," the mayor said, adding that otherwise, the neighbors will have to work out some issues with the school board, which owns Stevens Field.