See below the email sent from Mayor Wolfe to NJDOT:
Dear Ms. Fields:
I am the Mayor of East Amwell Township and am writing to you because we have a significant parking problem in our Township that I hope you can assist us in resolving.
In 2002, NJDOT authorized the installation of a bicycle lane in East Amwell Township along Route 179 from south of Boss Road to the center of the Ringoes Village (approximate mileposts 6.25-6.41). During the next 16 years, NJDOT did not install the bicycle lane.
Finally, in 2018, as part of a resurfacing project, NJDOT installed the bicycle lane.
Here’s the problem. A commercial complex, often referred to as the “Post Office Building,” is located in East Amwell Township along this bicycle lane. The main (but not only) tenant of the Post Office Building is a branch of the US Postal Service. Between 2002 and 2018, several other branches of the US Postal Service were consolidated into the branch in the Post Office Building. As a result, the demand for parking at the Post Office Building now significantly exceeds the available on-site parking spaces.
Until the installation of the bicycle lane along Route 179, the shortage of parking spaces at the Post Office Building wasn’t a meaningful problem because, if spaces were not available in the parking lot, employees and patrons of the Post Office (and the other tenants) would park along Route 179. To our knowledge, the parking along Route 179 did not create any issues for cyclists.
However, once NJDOT installed the bicycle lane, and posted “No Stopping or Standing” signs in front of the Post Office Building (and the police began enforcement efforts), the overflow parking along Route 179 stopped. That created a very significant parking problem at the Post Office Building, for both employees and patrons. In fact, with one exception, this parking problem generated more complaints to me in the past year than any other issue in East Amwell Township.
In a letter to Ms. Jaime Oplinger, dated June 24, 2019, a copy of which is attached, our Township Engineer, William Burr of Maser Consulting, (i) explained the parking situation at the Post Office Building, and why the parking cannot be expanded to adjacent lots (they’re residential), and (ii) requested that NJDOT eliminate a portion of the bicycle lane. Mr. Burr’s letter also included as an attachment a letter from me.
We had hoped that, following its receipt of the letters from Mr. Burr and me, NJDOT would work with us to resolve the parking problem caused by the installation of the bicycle lane along Route 179. Unfortunately, in the five months since we sent those letters, and after having contacted several people at NJDOT, we have made little progress. Instead, we’re simply getting passed from one person to another, to another.
To make matters worse, the owner of the Post Office Building offered to remove an existing row of hedges in the front of the building, pave that area, and create five additional parking spaces. While five additional parking spaces will not solve the parking problem, it would provide some relief.
As it turns out, that hedgerow is located in NJDOT’s right of way along Route 179, and NJDOT has informed our engineer that it will grant permission to construct the five parking spaces only if the owner of the Post Office Building either purchases or leases the area from NJDOT.
NJDOT’s “purchase or lease” position makes no sense to me. The owner of the Post Office Building is not seeking to eliminate NJDOT’s right of way. Rather, the owner simply wants to change the use of a small area from a hedgerow to five parking spaces.
In conclusion, East Amwell Township and its engineer are getting nowhere through the “regular” channels at NJDOT, in dealing with the parking problem resulting from the installation of the bicycle lane along Route 179. I am asking for your assistance in cutting through the seemingly endless red tape and addressing the parking problem. (The attached letter from our engineer discusses our suggested solution.)
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please feel free to email me at rwolfe@eastamwelltownship.com or call me at 908.377.0560.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Wolfe
Mayor, East Amwell Township
Click HERE to read the letter from Mayor Rick Wolfe to NJDOT regarding parking at the Post Office.