Officials Say Reports of On-Street Parking Ordinance Greatly Exaggerated

An announcement posted on Springfield Patch on Sunday, Sept. 18, decried local officials for voting to ban residents from parking on the streets in front of their homes.

The has garnered a number of comments from residents who likewise upbraid committee members for the parking ordinance.

Despite the worry, officials say that no such ordinance is in place or planned.

"The comment posted is so absurd as to be unbelievable," Springfield Mayor Hugh Keffer said in an email. "In fact it is completely untrue. There is no ordinance in the pipeline as I write and whoever said there was is trying to spread fear and should be ashamed of him or herself."

In the post, the resident says she was told the Township commitee is going to sign an ordiance preventing vehicles from being parked outside resident homes. The reader also said that under the terms of the supposed ordinance, once a month a resident can call to have a vehicle parked outside.

Not true, said Keffer.

"The only parking issues we have address in the past year concerned parking on Mountain Avenue," Keffer said. "The Library requested three-hour parking on the northbound side of the road and we support the request."

Keffer said that there were no upcoming votes that would ban onstreet parking, but noted that several recent actions and pending legislation impact parking in sections of Springfield.

The committee supported the police's request for a parking ban on Mountain Avenue in front of Town Hall because it clogged up the intersection with Wabeno. Likewise, the committee also supported requests from residents and a doctor's office on Washington Avenue for permit parking at th end of the street near Morris Ave—a move that resulted in parking and traffic congestion further up the street and needs further works.

Lastly, Keffer said that the committee voted to create one-side of the street parking for homes near Cohen Park after nearby residents complained of overparking and problems with traffic flow.