 "Photo: THE REVIEW/Ayelet Daniel")
Senior Ben Capon has requested that the city eliminate parking spots along North Chapel Street, where he lives. He said he is worried he and his neighbors will get into an accident while pulling out of their driveways because of the obstructed view by parked cars on the street.
Capon originally requested the removal of parking spaces at the Traffic Committee’s Oct. 20 meeting, during which the issue was tabled so the committee could review accident history and the impact of eliminating the spaces.
At the Nov. 17 meeting, the committee presented its findings of three reported crashes since 2007 on North Chapel Street due to vehicles pulling out into traffic. Although the number was somewhat low, the committee continued to look into a solution for Capon’s request.
At the meeting, Newark Police Chief Paul Tiernan suggested putting up meters as a means to promote less parking on the street,
“There is a lack of parking in this town but a price cannot be put on safety, and having a few parking spaces cut would help,” Tiernan said.
Capon opposed the idea and said he is concerned about how easy it would be to clip the corner of a parked car while leaving the driveway or to have a head-on collision.
“It is just a matter of time before something bad happens,” Capon said.
He said there is one gravel parking lot for the residents and their guests to share behind the houses, which is disorganized without lines or pavement.
“Guests park in the back with us, which becomes a problem because parking is limited and congested,” Capon said. “About 40 kids live on the street, and if five people have guests for the weekend it makes it much worse.”
Tiernan said he disagrees with removing parking spaces in a city with already limited parking.
“Parking is at a premium, and this street is one of the few places you can park without having to pay for the meter or a parking lot permit,” he said. “So it is convenient for residents and students to park there.”
Tiernan said parked cars on the street create a difficult view for drivers coming out the driveway, but the cars make people more cautious.
Lt. George Stanko of the Newark Police Department Parking Division said the cars parked on the side of the road also have a calming effect on the street’s two-way traffic.
“It is a natural reaction for people to slow down when coming down a narrow street, and the parked cars make it seem narrow,” Stanko said. “By removing the cars, it will only increase the on-coming traffic speed, not decrease it.”
Director of Public Works Rich Lapointe said after observing the area himself, he agrees with Capone that removing parking spaces will make traffic flow on the street less dangerous.
“It is a safety issue,” Lapointe said. “I could not help but to imagine myself getting hit while investigating this issue.”
Stanko proposed better organization as an answer to the safety issue.
“The driveway up towards New Street has a better line of sight and should be used as an exit,” he said. “If people can use one driveway as an entrance and the other as an exit, there is enough room behind the houses for people to park neatly.”
However, Capon said students feel there is not enough room to park in the back to prevent everybody from parking in the front.
“There are too many people with too many cars and random tree stumps in the way,” Capon said. “There will be no way to manage it because we cannot rearrange everyone.”
Stanko said authorities are limited to options if the landlords of the properties are not involved.
“The only way to get it to work is if people cooperate, and since it is all private property we cannot force them to,” he said.
Newark resident David Gula suggested painting a no parking yellow curb and eliminating three immediate parking spaces next to the driveways.
“By using paint to constrict an area, people would get tickets for parking right up on top of the driveways,” Gula said.
Tiernan said Newark police will make the request to council to remove those three spaces.
Next the police will look at the effects and decide if we have to make a double recommendation to remove more spaces.
He said the removal of the spaces will satisfy the students that live there, but the people that usually park there won’t be pleased with the outcome.
Capon said he appreciates the Traffic Committee’s approval of his proposal.
“Ideally, if I had big dreams I would have them remove parking on the whole street,” he said, “but at least now I will be able to see going up the street.”
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