{"id":954,"date":"2013-05-22T19:10:04","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T19:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingpermit.com\/blog\/?p=954"},"modified":"2024-07-31T03:31:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T07:31:50","slug":"student-parking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingpermit.com/blog\/student-parking\/","title":{"rendered":"Starved for student parking in Morristown, NJ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week New Jersey student Vincent Leahey demonstrated yet again the greater interest American youth<\/a> are taking in politics. The vice president of Morristown High School\u2019s senior class strode to the mic at a town council hearing to talk about student parking, a subject that has disgruntled Leahey\u2019s classmates.<\/p>\n

Since the council approved an ordinance that set two-hour parking restrictions on residential streets near the high school, sixty parking tickets have been issued to students. At $47 per ticket, that\u2019s roughly $3,000 in fines, Leahey told the council.<\/p>\n

\"Library<\/a>

Free and easy parking has long been presumed to be the birthright of America’s teens. Via Boston Public Library<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

The ordinance was initially passed after neighbors complained about the high school\u2019s limited student parking capacity and the overflow it causes for the surrounding area. As teens have increasingly sought parking off campus, residents have had fewer places to park, there\u2019s more litter and noise, and the congested streets result in narrower driving lanes, they said.<\/p>\n

The problem has also been blamed on rising population rates: the growth of the town and its student group has only put more pressure on Morristown\u2019s streets. This is a misperception, however. Morristown\u2019s population<\/a> actually fell by 0.72 percent between 2000 and 2010.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the ordinance as it stands today isn\u2019t fair to students, Leahey argued. \u201cThere are many people like me who volunteer, play sports, or work after school, and they need their car,\u201d he said. Leahey himself is a runner for the school\u2019s track team; he also volunteers at the Morristown EMT. (The numbers may be on Leahey\u2019s side: volunteer rates among his age group<\/a> declined 3 to 5 percent between 2005 and 2009, the latest years for which such data is available. If Morristown wishes to support volunteerism among its youth, then it might want to give its high school students as many opportunities to do so.)<\/p>\n

\"Morristown<\/a>

Morristown’s students are being ticketed at an astonishing rate. What are they supposed to do, just stay home? Via Larrygindoff<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

The student acknowledged that there were other options for his classmates besides the repeal of the ordinance. The Morristown Parking Authority offers students discounted rates<\/a> for permits<\/a> at its facilities, Leahey noted, but none are close enough to the school, a fact exacerbated during inclement weather.<\/p>\n

However, Leahey was adamant that recalling the ordinance was not what he had in mind. To do so would \u201cput the residents in a hole,\u201d he said and instead urged a compromise. One side of the streets in question could be dedicated to student parking, Leahey suggested, or off-street parking for students could be made mandatory on certain days\u2014odd versus even days of the month perhaps.<\/p>\n

The council did not entertain or propose other alternatives, but council member Stefan Armington said he, Mayor Tim Dougherty, and active principal Ethel Minchello will organize another meeting to look further into the issue. He invited Leahey to join the group as a student representative.<\/p>\n

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