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Student parking overflow requires action
(by Erin Patricia Griffiths - May 13, 2008)
In response to a parking problem at Pascack Valley High School, Hillsdale Police Chief Chip Stalter has requested that the council add several streets to the existing ordinance that regulates parking near the school, limiting parking to one hour during school days.
The streets requested to be included are Clayton Street and the avenues of Knickerbocker, Conklin, Large, and Liberty. Stalter suggested adding all of the streets to the ordinance, but said he would only put the signs up as needed, starting with Clayton. If the problem shifts to other streets, the ordinance would give him the authority to put signs there as well.
The parking problem dates back to the fall, when construction at Pascack Valley High School prevented students from parking on campus. Many students sought spaces on local Hillsdale streets. The school had an agreement with the Stonybrook Commission at the time, which allowed for temporary parking spaces for seniors. But some students felt this was too far to walk and turned to parking on Clayton Street and Hillsdale Avenue by Beechwood Park.
Residents of Clayton Street sent letters to the borough council in the fall requesting something be done to prevent students from parking outside their homes. At the time, the police department suggested waiting until students were back on campus, post-construction, to address the situation.
Construction at the school has been completed, but has left the parking lot with fewer spaces. Stalter commented on the situation saying, “As most of us realize, nobody walks to school anymore. It’s just not done. So therefore, we have more students than ever wanting to drive and less parking spaces than ever.”
Council President Donna Schiavone also plans to talk to the Stonybrook Commission to see if its parking arrangement with the school could be reinstated even though the construction is complete. Stalter hopes that if the borough prevents parking on enough nearby residential streets during the day, the students without spaces on campus will return to parking in Stonybrook’s lot. Since the pool doesn’t open full time until the school closes for the summer, borough officials do not think the arrangement would cause any problems.
The streets to be added to the ordinance are subject to attorney review and modification and will be finalized in a formal proposal to the council by Stalter.
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