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Message |
    
CJH
Citizen
Username: Christel
Post Number: 32
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 12:58 pm: | 
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When I first moved to SO earlier this year, my next door neighbor warned me that there was no overnight parking allowed on the street, and that if I ever did have a circumstance that required overnight parking (e.g. a houseguest), I should call the police and tell them I'd be doing it.
But I've never seen any signs anywhere saying you can't park overnight, though I have seen them in Maplewood and other neighboring towns (usually when you enter the town and on the streets). He had also recently moved here himself from Maplewood, so I wonder if he was just assuming the rule exists here also?
Are there really restrictions on street parking overnight? And if so, without ESP how was I supposed to know that without my neighbor telling me? He's got a tendency to be "helpful" and overauthoritative in areas where he's not quite an expert, am I right in suspecting this was another case of that?
I know I could call Village Hall or the police or someone and ask them, but my sense is that everyone here is smarter and more informative (plus it's lunch hour over there anyway). |
Lucy Smith
Citizen
Username: Lucy123
Post Number: 192
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:18 pm: |
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There is an ordinance against overnight parking in south orange. no parking 2am-6am i believe? your neighbor is correct-you will get a ticket if you are on the street after 2am. and it used to be an $8 ticket but it went up i believe to over $30...
someone may be able to answer this better but does maplewood allow overnight parking in some areas? i'm assuming that when it is a city-wide ordinance there is no reason to use signage since you would need signs on every street. i'm assuming that is why maplewood has some signs where it is illegal??? |
Lucy Smith
Citizen
Username: Lucy123
Post Number: 193
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:20 pm: |
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and to answer your esp question...i learned when i got my first ticket! it's right there on the ticket!!! other than that, i would say it is similar to driving in another state-ignorance doesn't get you out of a ticket 100% of the time...you need to know the laws in the city/state/country you are in-and it's your responsibility to find them out to protect yourself. |
Starr
Citizen
Username: Starr
Post Number: 135
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:25 pm: |
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Your next door neighbor is absolutely correct. I believe there are signs about the overnight parking restrictions on South Orange Avenue as you drive down the hill into the Village from the S curves further up the mountain.
However, I just checked www.southorange.org, the official Website for the Village. I looked at the "Parking Authorty" page (which you can find if you click on "Departments") and didn't see anything about the overnight parking restrictions. (The only clue is the information that someone without a driveway can buy a permit to park on the street overnight.) So you are correct in that the restrictions aren't well publicized at all. We weren't aware of the restrictions either when we first moved to town and a family member got a ticket as a result. |
CJH
Citizen
Username: Christel
Post Number: 33
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:29 pm: |
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Thanks, I've tried looking for the signs and couldn't find any (but found them in Maplewood and West Orange when I wasn't looking), so I wondered how there could be this big rule without them telling anyone about it.
Oh well, I was hoping to avoid having to drive my minivan up and down my vespa-wide driveway all the time, but I guess I'm back to scraping against the side of the house (I suppose I'll soon find out if that's secretly against the law here too). |
DRJ
Citizen
Username: Alaska
Post Number: 82
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:32 pm: |
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The ticket for violating the overnight parking restriction is $45 |
Lucy Smith
Citizen
Username: Lucy123
Post Number: 195
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:34 pm: |
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Thanks DRJ-I knew it had gone up significantly but didn't know the exact $$. |
DRJ
Citizen
Username: Alaska
Post Number: 83
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:43 pm: |
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No problem...I found out the hard way :-) |
Lucy Smith
Citizen
Username: Lucy123
Post Number: 196
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 1:47 pm: |
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I found out from word of mouth that it had gone up-i used to get the $8 (i think it was that and then went up to $12 if you forgot to pay it???) ones all the time (every couple of months)-forgot to bring it in to the lot, etc. it just really didn't phase many people when it was $8 so there were cars on the street overnight all the time! i guess that's why they increased it-i know it made me remember to bring my car in! lol |
Old and Gray
Citizen
Username: Pastmyprime
Post Number: 383
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 3:30 pm: |
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It is posted when you enter the Village on most streets leading in from out of town...I can't recall one that isn't.
This was discussed about a year ago.
I think it is good, if we didn't have it, you would see streets around the college and apartment buildings loaded with cars...Not that Cottage Street ever has an open space on it at all times of the day and night...It's frustrating not having the ability to park near ones home...but we like our apartment. |
combustion
Citizen
Username: Spontaneous
Post Number: 86
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 4:50 pm: |
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I have seen the no overnight parking signs when entering South Orange, though I don't remember specificallly which streets I noticed them on. I'll check more closely the next time I drive around. I found the no parking rule mentioned on the official town website, however it was hard to find as they put it under public safety instead of parking authority. Click on this link and scroll all the way to the bottom.
http://www.southorange.org/police.asp |
wnb
Citizen
Username: Wnb
Post Number: 415
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 4:50 pm: |
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http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/codebook_frameset.asp?ep=fs&t=ws&cb=0799_A
§ 152-11.1. All-night parking.
A. No person shall park any vehicles on any street of the Township of South Orange Village from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
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CJH
Citizen
Username: Christel
Post Number: 34
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 5:48 pm: |
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Here's what the sign nearest my house on South Orange Avenue says. I guess I just didn't assume that these rules extended past the street that they're posted on and onto all the other surrounding streets, like a big umbrella. I sometimes optimistically hope that if I parked overnight they'd run the license plate before they wrote the ticket, see that the car is parked in front of its own home, and cut me a break, but that's wishful thinking, so it's back up and down my tiny driveway for me.
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campbell29
Citizen
Username: Campbell29
Post Number: 477
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 10:32 pm: |
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There are no signs, at least not posted in any sort of fashion which would make you believe in any way that it was not legal to park in front of your own house on a public thouroughfare. And, of course, coming from one of the 48 or so other states where one is allowed to park in front of one's own house without penalty, I can understand why this might be mystifying. We too, learned the "hard way", although it was only $9, rather than the whopping $45 it is now. If you do have overnight guests, please be prepared to bicker with the traffic authority as to the "emergency" why you need to have someone park in front of your house. We were actually told that even though my mother had come down to be with me in the hospital and needed to park out front, that the police "might still issue a ticket". I swear the next time I call someone in, and get a ticket anyway, that I will bring $45 in pennies to the traffic court and make them count them and issue me a receipt. |
combustion
Citizen
Username: Spontaneous
Post Number: 91
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 11:20 pm: |
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Okay, take a deep breath, and calm down. Sometimes honest mistakes are made. If you call in your car and still get a ticket, CALMLY call the court and explain the situation. They will look up the date and vehicle and if your car was called in they will take care of it for you. Also, you're better off calling the police department for overnight rather than the parking authority, and if you do have a hard time calling in your guest vehicle, you have SHU students who abuse the privilege to thank for that.
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Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 14678
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:16 am: |
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In The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, the plot opens with the explosion of the earth. It turns out that it was everyone's responsibility to know about the impending doom. A notice had been filed in the basement of some library, and everyone was free to seek it out.
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Nancy - LibraryLady
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3569
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 7:46 am: |
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South Orange is not unique.AI friend was housesitting in Maplewood and got a ticket for leaving her car on the street in front of the house. She called, said she never saw any signs, was told there were at all the main entrances to Maplewood and then got the ticket removed.
I have called in (to the local police number, NOT 911) in South Orange many, many times when guests stayed overnight and have never, ever had any problems with getting permission. Just call and give the plate number, ,location, etc and you won't be ticketed. |
Lucy Smith
Citizen
Username: Lucy123
Post Number: 198
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 8:56 am: |
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Like Nancy, I have never ever had any problems calling in a car. I call the local police station number (not 911 or the parking authority #) and they are always pleasant and I have never even been asked "why?". Cambell-next time try that number-i hope it will give you a different perspective on the process. I think the process is a very good one-the police understand situations come up when you need to have someone park overnight on the street and allow it given they know about it. |
wnb
Citizen
Username: Wnb
Post Number: 417
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 11:46 am: |
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The picture of the sign that was posted here is not the sign or type of sign that communicates the town-wide overnight parking regulation. I believe the signs which do that are found very close to the "Welcome to South Orange" wooden signs that appear on pretty much all our borders at least on the main roads. The sign posted here is interpreted correctly, it is for the area of South Orange Avenue on which it is posted and indicates primarily that people are not supposed to park here during rush hour. It also does indicate that you can't park there overnight. I'm pretty sure those signs are there that indicate something town-wide, though sitting at my desk here I can't verify it, but I thought I've seen them. Find those "Welcome to South Orange" signs, that is where you will (I believe) find the signs referencing the town ordinance on overnight parking.
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Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 5362
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:35 pm: |
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For those who don't know, the non emergency police number is 973.763.3000 |
Tuxedo
Citizen
Username: Tuxedo
Post Number: 23
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:15 pm: |
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I just call the SO police and give them the license plate # and have never had a problem. |
Tuxedo
Citizen
Username: Tuxedo
Post Number: 24
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:31 pm: |
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The dispatchers are extremely nice and say just let us know if you need more days. The P.A. is only going to ticket in high pedestrian areas like downtown. They don't come into residential areas, at least not in my experience. |
campbell29
Citizen
Username: Campbell29
Post Number: 479
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:35 pm: |
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Usually I have not had a problem, and don't have a problem with calling in a car. But more than once, I have been told that I might get a ticket anyway. On one of those occasions, I did receive a ticket, which I protested , but it was not removed. Its not the law I find annoying, its the "Mother, May I" attitude I have sometimes encountered.
Although not allowing residential overnight street parking seems common in NJ, it is not common in other states, which is why new NJ residents often don't understand the law and certainly don't extrapolate the fact that no overnight parking on a street not theirs is in fact a village wide ban. Like most native NJians, I am now with the program. |
DRJ
Citizen
Username: Alaska
Post Number: 84
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:49 pm: |
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The P.A. is not writing tickets at 2 a.m. However the police are, and they do ticket in residential areas. |
Tuxedo
Citizen
Username: Tuxedo
Post Number: 29
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:59 pm: |
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Yep, it sucks. |
teach75
Citizen
Username: Teach75
Post Number: 41
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 6:09 pm: |
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I live in an apartment building in South Orange that has only a municipal lot behind it for parking. I grew up in South Orange...I know the rules. I dutifully went to get my night parking permit and affixed it to my car. Unfortunately, I usually do not get to park in the lot behind my building. If I am not parked in my lot by 8:00pm or so, I will probably not get a spot. Now that a lot of the SHU students have moved out it has eased up a bit. I am sure that is only temporary. I try to park in another lot, but it is far away and quite deserted at night. I just do not feel safe walking from my car, down an alley and up a few blocks when it is dark out.
My next thought was to park on one of the side streets and call my car in. However, almost every single time I have called in my car to the South Orange Police, non-emergency number, I have been insulted by the rudeness of the dispatcher. It is like it is my fault that there are not enough spots for the cars near my apartment building. I have been hung up on, told that I would get a ticket anyway, and an outright, "No, you cannot park on the street overnight. You have to move your car." When my brother was staying over, they even asked for the apartment building and apartment # I lived in. One time I actually said that I was not a SHU student, but a life-long resident and he explained that there is a lot of abuse of the overnight parking by the students. Especially when there are big parties going on at the Cottage St. houses.
The moral of the story is: I now try to get into my lot before 8pm - especially if I have done laundry or grocery shopping!!! |
mjc
Citizen
Username: Mjc
Post Number: 1187
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 6:12 pm: |
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We have always always been ticketed when we inadvertently left a car out overnight...until lately, when we've been spared 3 or 4 times in the last 6 months. I keep wondering what's up? |
CJH
Citizen
Username: Christel
Post Number: 36
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 9:15 pm: |
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Not to belabor the point, but I went out of my way today to double check some of the "welcome to south orange" sites in the area. If you're travelling west on South Orange Avenue (from Vailsburg), there is indeed a sign near the wooden welcome sign that says no cars can park on the street between 2 AM and 6 AM. I saw no such sign on South Orange eastbound. On Valley, coming from Maplewood, there is an interesting variety of signs -- e.g. a buckle your seatbelt sign, a sign about the bicycle rules in the area, and one that just says something about the DWI Task Force -- but I didn't see any about the parking regulations.
From people's responses it certainly doesn't seem like the greatest burden in the world to deal with and I'm not even sure when street parking will be an issue for me (except the aforementioned desire to stop squeezing in and out of my driveway), but as others have pointed out, it would probably be fairer to issue tickets for things that were made clearer from the outset. |
Brooklynlady
Citizen
Username: Brooklynlady
Post Number: 9
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 11:00 am: |
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Just curious why we have this stupid parking rule in the first place. For street cleaning days or for those streets that are thin in width why doesn't the town just institute alternate street parking rules. It works in NYC where there is a ton more cars than here in South Orange. |
campbell29
Citizen
Username: Campbell29
Post Number: 480
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 3:01 pm: |
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I think its a NJ thing. I've lived in MD,DC,VA,FL & IL, and never encountered a blanket street prohibition (DC did have resident permits). Various theories are that it "makes the neighborhoods look nicer", "deters crime", "keeps people from subdividing their homes into a gazillion illegal apartments". Whatever the reason, people in NJ seem to not take issue with it, otherwise it wouldn't exist. I wonder if its a northern NJ quirk, or one that runs throughout the state, like jughandles. |
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