Mahwah July 25, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Parking no longer permitted near bus stop by Frank J. McMahon Motorists are now prohibited from weekday parking between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. on both sides of Rock Ridge Road and Trellis Court, which are located near a New Jersey Transit bus stop on Franklin Turnpike just south of Micik Lane in Mahwah. The bus stop is directly across from Rock Ridge Road, and commuters tend to park on that street all day while they are working in New York City. The ordinance was introduced and adopted by the Mahwah Council based on residents’ complaints about commuter parking on Rock Ridge Road, but the ordinance also prohibits parking on the nearby Trellis Court cul-desac in anticipation that commuters would migrate to that street for parking if the prohibition only related to Rock Ridge Road. Captain Robert Sinnaeve, the police department’s traffic safety officer, also recommended the parking prohibition. His recommendation extended to two other nearby streets, Wagon Trail and Boulder Trail, but the council decided to limit the prohibition to Rock Ridge and Trellis. During the discussion that preceded the introduction of the ordinance, it was pointed out that the restriction would apply to residents and commuters during the restricted hours and days. The idea of using parking stickers for residents was discussed, but Mahwah Township Administrator Brian Campion said he would prefer not to use stickers. He pointed out that the use of stickers for residents’ cars would not, in any event, eliminate the need for “no parking” signs, which some residents of those streets said they do not want in front of their homes. The issue was raised by Rock Ridge Road resident John Duffy, who told the council that, with the cars parked on the street, the garbage cannot be picked up, street sweepers cannot clean the street, and the township cannot get on the street to pick up leaves. He wanted the commuters to be prohibited from parking on his street, but he did not want to impact the residents of his street, although he said he had no problem with the proposed hours of the parking restriction. Rock Ridge Road resident Eugene Banas told the council that a school bus has difficulty turning into Rock Ridge with cars parked there. He also supported a restriction on parking on that street. A resident of Wagon Trail, a street located to the south of Trellis Court, opposed the parking restrictions on his street. He claimed he has never had a problem with cars parked on his street. A resident of Boulder Trail, which is located farther south on Franklin Turnpike, said the prohibition would cause him to get parking violations summonses because of his schedule for attending college. He pointed out that the number of cars in his family requires that some park on the street. Information about the proposed ordinance was sent to all the residents of Rock Ridge Road and Trellis Court, and a public hearing on the ordinance was held on July 12, when the ordinance was adopted.