Town Board to Address Parking at Glover Field

Pelham town officials are exploring ways to improve parking near the Glover Field track.

The field, located off Sanford Boulevard, is struggling to accommodate the volume of cars that stop by throughout the day.

Solimine said the track, which was recently repaved, has drawn a lot of visitors. He said this creates a chaotic situation at times, because it becomes difficult for motorists to navigate through the maze of vehicles.  

“People who come to walk on the wonderful track also come with their wonderful automobiles,” Joe Solimine, the Pelham town supervisor, said during the Aug. 15 town board meeting. “And whenever we have an event, whether it be  a fundraising event, whether it be softball game — the parking situation is getting crazy.”

Solimine said parked cars have always been a problem at the track in the evening, but the situation has spilled into the morning hours as well.

Solimine suggested creating a separate fee for residents and non-resident to use the field. His proposal would also require users to carry a picture identification with them at all times. Spot checks would also be performed to ensure everyone is in compliance.

Solimine wants the Pelham school district to have the field gated in order to prevent unsupervised usage. The town and school district have an agreement to share the maintenance and supervision of the field.

“It’s almost impossible to enforce,” Daniel McLaughlin,a town councilman, said of Solimine’s plan. “At 6:30 a.m., are you going to walk up to somebody and ask if they have their permit?”

McLaughlin also wonders if it's wise to give the field’s maintenance staff the added responsibility of monitoring park users.

“You’re making somebody a policeman at that point and they don’t have a gun,” McLaughlin said. “As you know in this day and age...people don’t appreciate being questioned.”

McLaughlin suggested making people get permits for their cars. Anybody who doesn’t have a permit would be ticketed, McLaughlin said.

Town Councilman Peter DiPaolo suggested making users obtain cards that can be swiped through an electronic card reader, but town Attorney Thomas Kleinberger said that idea might be too costly.

The board tabled the discussion for a later date.

Robert Eicher, the Pelham school board president, agreed that the parking situation at Glover Field needs to be addressed. But Eicher said that there have been no formalized discussions between the two boards on the matter.

Eicher said any discussion would likely take place within the joint field committee, which is composed of representatives from the town and school district.