West Orange residents push for permit parking amid chronic shortages
Frustrated by long-standing parking issues, residents in West Orange are calling on township leaders to implement a permit parking program they say would bring much-needed relief to their neighborhood.
Frustrated by long-standing parking issues, residents in West Orange are calling on township leaders to implement a permit parking program they say would bring much-needed relief to their neighborhood.
The divide is especially clear along Rollinson Street, where homes on one side of the hill have permit parking while those on the other do not.
Residents without permits say the difference is pushing commuters and visitors — including students — to park on their streets, creating daily headaches. “Because they restricted a total of 19 blocks from Seton Hall students parking there, these students have come down to our seven blocks and have bombarded our streets,” said resident Joy Burnett.
Neighbors say the issue has persisted for nearly two decades. At last month’s township council meeting, officials introduced a proposed $42,000, three-month pilot program. The plan would convert several two-way streets into one-way streets to create additional parking. But many residents argue that increasing parking supply misses the point.
“We don’t need more parking. We need less cars on our streets,” Burnett said. “More parking is not the answer,” added resident Marlene McLeod-Douse, noting that conditions improve during the summer months when school is out of session.
Residents and some local officials believe the influx of vehicles is largely tied to Seton Hall Prep students parking in the neighborhood.
“Seton Hall has been a protected entity in this town,” said West Orange Councilwoman Joyce Rudin. “If there’s a will, there’s a way, and apparently there is no will at the top — from the mayor’s office — to make this change.”
Some residents have gone further, calling the disparity in parking policies discriminatory.
“It’s unjust and inequitable to say that they get the solution that they want, but for us — Black and brown neighbors predominantly — we don’t get the same say in what’s best for our neighborhood,” Burnett said.
For now, the township council has decided not to move forward with the proposed pilot program.
