Long Branch To Limit Van Parking On Streets

LONG BRANCH, NJ — City officials will propose a law limiting street parking for vans, the City announced Friday. Long Branch's mayor and council said they have received numerous complaints of out-of-town vans parking on city streets.

A press release from the City called rampart van parking "a safety issue and a quality of life issue." Issues include the vans narrowing the roads, making it difficult to pull out of driveways, and carpentry vans dropping nails and screws in the road, the City says.

The mayor and council will introduce an ordinance at the next council meeting requiring van drivers to apply for a permit to park between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. Only Long Branch residents who operate a registered vehicle at their home will be able to park their van in the street. The number of vans that can be parked in the street would be limited to one per household.

The Police Department's Traffic Unit would issue $25 permits. The fee is based on the cost to the city of operating the van parking permit program. Once the ordinance passes, Long Branch will give van owners 60 days to comply before they get tickets.

The van-parking limitation doesn't apply to cars, SUVs, pickup trucks or noncommercial vehicles. It applies only to commercial vehicles such as vans and trucks with commercial licenses or indicators for commercial use.

Oversize vehicles such as dump trucks and low-trucks (those over 8,000 pounds) are already prohibited on Long Branch streets and won't be eligible for the permit program.

Long Branch's next City Council meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Click here for the agenda.

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