Alternate-Side-Of-The-Street Parking Proposed For Part Of Hamilton Street

The Hamilton Street Advisory Board on June 6 endorsed a proposal to enact alternate-side-of-the-street parking along the street’s business district.

A proposal to enact alternate-side-of-the-street parking for the Hamilton Street Business District will be presented next month to the Township Council.

The idea was endorsed by the Hamilton Street Advisory Board at its June 6 meeting, and is seen as necessary to ensure a proper cleaning of the street.

If enacted, the new regulation would affect both sides of Hamilton Street from Franklin Boulevard to the New Brunswick border.

The council would have to incorporate the regulation in the township’s parking ordinance.

The suggestion will be to prohibit parking on one side of Hamilton street from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Mondays, and on the other side of the street during the same times on Tuesdays. This would ensure the business district portion of the street is thoroughly cleaned once a week, said township manager Robert Vornlocker.

Vornlocker said the street cleaning duties would be shared by the township’s public works department and Somerset County. Hamilton Street is a county road and the county has asked for such an ordinance “on a number of occasions,” he said.

He said the cleaning would probably also be extended to side streets off Hamilton Street.

Vornlocker admitted that the proposal “will involve some getting used to by long-time residents of the street.”

“It will take a cultural change,” Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois (D-At Large) said.

Board chairman Tim Kelly said that he supported the idea, but asked that residents in violation of the new rule not be ticketed right away.

“Maybe we go out in the beginning issuing warnings,” he said.

Vornlocker said the change is not meant to be a revenue stream for the township, adding that the township police department does not have the personnel to dedicate people to ticket writing.

Also, he said, unlike New Brunswick, Franklin does not have a parking authority.

“This committee in various forms has complained about the litter on the street for years,” said Vornlocker, who brought the idea to the board. “The only way to properly clean the streets is to run the curb. This is the only method to do that.”

“I recognize there’s a minor inconvenience one day a week for a couple of hours,” Vornlocker said.

Vornlocker also said that if the program works on Hamilton Street, the council may look to expand alternate-side-of-the-street parking to other large streets in the township.

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