Mayoral Candidate Floats Solution To Ocean City Parking Problem

OCEAN CITY, NJ — For most of the year, Ocean City is a town of about 11,000 people. However, in the summer months, that number swells. The island becomes packed with visitors looking to enjoy the beach, ocean, sunshine and all other amenities America’s Greatest Family Resort offers.

As long as one can find a place to park. The issue is problematic in the summer, but Ocean City mayoral candidate John Flood said he has an idea to improve the parking situation on the island.

“As I am walking the city and knocking on doors, I find the one thing most people in Ocean City continue to agree on is the need for more parking,” said Flood, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Jay Gillian in the May 8 non-partisan election. “I have watched the mayor and council kick this around for years, talk about parking garages, etc. and while we continue to struggle and spend many hours circling the block looking for a parking space, it seems there may be a very simple solution for little or no cost.”

State law has set the distance you are allowed to park from a stop sign at 50 feet, Flood said. However, in 2010, the state approved an amendment to that law allowing municipalities to reduce the distance to 25 feet.
If the length of a parking space is 20 feet, more spaces could be created at every intersection in which there is a stop sign, Flood said. He believes this could create an additional 750 parking spaces across the island at no cost to the taxpayer.
"It doesn’t appear that Ocean City maybe taking full advantage of this option,” Flood said.

The legislation, approved on Jan. 17, 2010, does stipulate that a municipality can’t allow parking within 25 feet of a crosswalk or side line of a street or intersecting highway. Parking also must be prohibited within 50 feet of a stop sign in a school zone during school hours. Even with the limitations, Flood believes it’s an idea worth pursuing.

“One of my first acts as mayor will be to present this opportunity to council and the public for their consideration, discussion and input. We could create an ordinance that would allow Ocean City to take advantage of this law. That would be the first step in the way the process should work.”

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