Dear Editor:
The problem is…no structure. There is no structure to this parking problem when their absolutely needs to be structure. On any given night I can count on my block and the surrounding blocks, on average, two to four parking spaces per block that would have been available if people just used common sense and cared about their fellow parkers.
Yes, we should expect others to have more than a basic understanding of the difficulties of parking in Hoboken and to do all they can to allow others to be able to park as well. However, can we really expect everyone to think the same way if there are no clear lines drawn showing where exactly to park your car?
This is where “parking lines” would help to create structure. When you go to a parking garage they lay out every parking space that is available to the customer. That way the business knows exactly how many cars can fit into the lot and drivers know exactly where to park their cars.
Another example of “parking lines” is diagonal parking that is present on certain streets in Hoboken. Once again, it’s the lines that tell people where and how to park!
So here is the idea. The city should decide what the maximum and minimum length of an average vehicle should be, the maximum and minimum length of an economy vehicle and the maximum and minimum length of an oversized vehicle and paint lines on the streets to show drivers where exactly they can park. This will eliminate any guess work when parking your car and will maximize the parking available so others can park their car as well.
Since all streets aren’t the same due to driveways, fire-hydrants and other variances then here is my solution to the asymmetry. Start from the middle of the block when setting the parking spaces and work to the ends. Once you get to the end of the block or any other variance you will encounter three scenarios: the parking space will fall into the average parameters the city has established, the parking space will be to short or the parking space will be too long. If the useable parking space is shorter than what the city has deemed the acceptable minimum length of an average parking space but still long enough to fit what the city has deemed the acceptable minimum length of an economy sized vehicle (mini car) then it should be reserved for those vehicles. If the useable parking space is longer than what the city has deemed the acceptable maximum length of an average parking space but the extra space is too short to fit an economy sized vehicle then the whole space should be reserved for oversized vehicles. Please look for Part three in a future edition, “The Remedy Continued.”
Sincerely,
Darren V. Cellemme