Report of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Parking
September 2003
I. Statement of the problem
Westfield High School lies in an older residential area. Within a half mile of the high school are a busy train station with more than 1000 daily commuters, numerous professional office buildings, McKinley Elementary School, Holy Trinity Parochial School, several churches, businesses, apartments and hundreds of residential homes.
In September 2003, 363 seniors and 384 juniors are anticipated at Westfield High School (the official number will be available October 15, 2003), numbers that will grow until at least 2007. A survey of Westfield High School students conducted in the spring of 2002 indicates that approximately two-thirds of the seniors and one-third of the juniors drive to school. The demand for parking spaces by high school students will increase through at least 2007, when there will be more than 430 seniors and more than 470 juniors. Currently there are 213 parking spaces on the high school property and another 25 available across the street at the Armory. This is adequate to satisfy the needs of the high school staff and provide seven handicapped spaces, but not sufficient to provide parking for high school students.
High School Enrollment based on October 15, 2001 and 2002 counts
2001-02 / 2002-03 / 2003-04 / 2004-05 / 2005-06Seniors / 335 / 321 / 364 / 384 / 432
Juniors / 328 / 364 / 384 / 432 / 472
Sophomores / 369 / 384 / 432 / 472 / 471
Freshmen / 378 / 432 / 472 / 471 / 468
Estimated Student Parking Needs based on enrollment and ratios
2001-02 / 2002-03 / 2003-04 / 2004-05 / 2005-06Seniors / 220 / 214 / 240 / 254 / 280
Juniors / 110 / 123 / 127 / 140 / 157
Total / 330 / 337 / 367 / 394 / 437
In response to petitions by homeowners who complained of the inconvenience of cars constantly parked in front of their homes, the Westfield Town Council has limited on-street parking on many streets near the high school to two hours. Although initially aimed at reducing the number of commuters parking on the streets, the two-hour restrictions also have forced high school students to tightly park on a limited number of nearby streets to the consternation of the homeowners on these streets. In short, the current supply of unrestricted on-street or available off-street parking in the area within a quarter mile of the high school is not sufficient to meet the growing demands for parking. The problem will grow with the increasing school enrollment and will be affected by the Town Council’s plans for a parking deck/redevelopment project by the train station, which is expected to begin construction in January 2004.
II. Charge to the Community Advisory Committee on Parking
The Board of Education and the Town Council of Westfield established a Community Advisory Committee on Parking in April 2003 to help develop a long-term, comprehensive plan to alleviate pressure for parking by the high school. The Committee included: Town Council members Susan Jacobson and Rafael Betancourt; School Board president Arlene Gardner and School Board member Kimberly Rhodes; Westfield High School Principal Robert Petix; Director of Parking for the Westfield Police Department Captain John Morgan; Westfield residents Sheila Becker, Susan Devaney, Laura Nolan, Martin Robins and Charles Weidman; Westfield High School students Carolyn Harbaugh and Garret Cockren; and Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Foley. Mr. Robins and Ms. Gardner co-chaired the committee.
The charge to the Committee was to consider:
· ways to provide adequate parking (on-street and off-street) for high school students within reasonable proximity of the high school;
· opportunities for providing off-street parking;
· fair methods for addressing residents’ concerns about on-street parking;
· fair methods for reducing the pressure for parking;
· as well as ways to enforce any restrictions; and other issues of safety and feasibility;
· and to submit a comprehensive report to the Board of Education and the Town Council by June 1, 2003.
Committee meetings were held on April 28, May 7, May 12, May 19 and June 18, 2003. By May 19, it was clear that the Advisory Committee would not be able to prepare a comprehensive report by June 1. Instead a preliminary set of recommendations was agreed upon at the June 18th meeting and given to the Town Council and the Board of Education. The Board of Education and the Town Council both held meetings on June 24, 2003 where they approved the preliminary recommendations and agreed to begin to implement the preliminary recommendations for January 2004.
III. Identifying the Stakeholders
The Committee began its task by acknowledging the various stakeholders affected by Westfield High School’s parking issues and agreeing that solutions should strive to strike a reasonable balance among the interests of all stakeholders:
A. Teachers and staff at Westfield High School.
* Provide safe, convenient parking for 215 staff members
B. Westfield High School students
* Students interested in parking as close to school as possible
* Establish a system that is reasonable to students
C. Neighborhood residents around the high school
* Safety for neighborhood children
* Accessibility of driveways
* Monitor and control of littering and loitering
D. Other Westfield residents and taxpayers
* Fiscal impact
* Consistent, reasonable on-street parking policy for the entire town
E. Nearby schools – Holy Trinity, McKinley Elementary
* Safety of children who attend those schools
* Sufficient parking for teaching staff.
F. Local Businesses, especially on Westfield Avenue
* Reasonable amount of street parking for clients
G. Westfield Town Council and Board of Education
* Parking is privilege, not all students have to drive
* Ability to revoke student parking privileges
IV. Criteria for evaluating possible solutions
A. Is it safe?
Under what circumstances should parking be restricted for safety reasons?
Safety of students walking and driving to and from school; safety of neighborhood children; need for fire department to access fire hydrants and homes in the event of a fire; access to driveways by residents; and traffic flow on streets.
B. Is it Fair?
There should be equal treatment for all surrounding streets and neighborhoods.
It should ensure reasonable street parking for residents.
It should provide reasonable access to on-street parking for high school seniors.
C. Is it Enforceable?
The police should be able to enforce speeding, parking, littering, loitering and property damage laws.
Westfield High School should help with enforcement through a code of conduct and its student disciplinary policies.
D. Is it fiscally responsible?
Does the cost justify the benefits gained in additional parking?
Do those who benefit assume responsibility for payment?
V. What are other school districts doing?
Increased demand for parking by high school students is not a problem unique to Westfield. Neighboring Scotch Plains has similar concerns. Even regional school districts with busing, such as Princeton and Hunterdon Central Regional High Schools, are having parking problems because more high school students have cars available and want to drive to school. Dr. Foley contacted other school superintendents to determine how other school districts are responding to increased pressure for parking by high school students. His telephone interviews revealed the following:
- Berkeley Heights—space in high school parking lot for seniors and some juniors. No on-street parking restrictions.
- Central Hunterdon—busing, only seniors may park in lot
- East Brunswick—only seniors may park in lot, on-street restrictions
- Highland Park—no space in lot—open parking on streets
- Linden—no student parking in lot, on-street parking, alternate side for services
- New Providence—only seniors may park in lot with permit
- Springfield—no parking problem—large lot
- Summit—lot large enough for seniors, and juniors first come first serve
- Union—no parking problem—large lot
VI. Options considered
At the April 28, May 7 and May 12 Advisory Committee meetings, the following options were considered:
1. Create a parking lot for high school students behind the Armory.
2. Use a trolley.
3. Use Watterson Parking lot.
4. Have students park at Memorial Pool and bus them to the high school.
5. Use the extra spaces available at the parking lot at Edison Intermediate School.
6. Have teachers park on the streets and high school students park in the lot behind the high school.
7. Expand the parking lot behind the high school to provide additional spaces for students.
8. Expand the parking lot on the side of the high school by Rahway Avenue.
9. Limit the number of students permitted to park.
10. Establish a uniform system for providing alternate side of the street parking on streets within one-quarter mile of the high school that takes into account issues of safety and limits the inconvenience to homeowners.
VII. Options not viable for 2003-2004
It quickly became apparent that it would not be possible to implement several of these options for the 2003-2004 school year and that our immediate solutions were quite limited.
1. Although the Town Council appropriated $120,000 to construct a parking lot behind the Armory on Rahway Avenue, the Westfield Armory is in the process of consolidating with the Flemington Armory and is concerned about security as well as the negative letters received from homeowners on Hyslip Street, at the back of the Armory. The Town Council and the School Board wrote to the Armory supporting the proposal to use part of the space behind the Armory for high school parking. Since we do not yet have approval from the Armory, this option was eliminated as a possibility for 2003-2004, but remains a possible option for 2004-2005.
2. The Watterson parking lot is within half a mile of the high school. It is currently being used by rail commuters. Although this lot is never completely filled by commuters, members of the Town Council explained that all of the spaces have been sold and the lot will be needed when construction begins on the parking deck by the train station, which is scheduled for January 2004. However, it will be available for alternative use once the train station parking deck has been completed. The Committee agreed that the parking needs of the students who live in Westfield and desire to drive and park near the high school should be considered alongside of the Town’s interest in generating greater revenues by selling the spaces at Watterson to out-of-town commuters. Holy Trinity Parochial School has sent a letter noting that their parents use the Watterson lot for pick-up and drop off and that for reasons of safety they would prefer not to have inexperienced high school students parking next to their elementary school. The Committee left the Watterson lot as a long-term option for further discussion.
3. The Memorial Pool parking lot also may be necessary in January 2004 when the parking deck at the train station is under construction. In addition, there appears to be little interest by students to park at Memorial Pool and take a trolley, jitney or bus to the high school. This option has been removed from further discussion unless there are any changes.
4. At the May 7th meeting, it was suggested that residents would object less to having teachers rather than students parking in front of their homes because the teachers are more mature and less likely to leave debris, play loud music or behave in other ways that annoys residents. The suggestion was viewed as unfair to the teachers and not feasible by the most of the committee. It was removed from further discussion.
5. At the May 12th meeting, School Board engineer Ken Disko provided an analysis of the possibilities for extending the existing parking lot behind the high school into the current athletic field. To expand the parking lot to obtain an additional 146 spaces (four parking rows and two isles) would cost $185,000-244,000 and require giving up a playing field. Most of the committee felt that losing a playing field was not acceptable, especially when fields are in such demand. In addition, many physical education classes use these fields and high school enrollment is growing. Besides the loss of field space and cost, Dr. Foley indicated that it would not be possible to expand the parking lot for September 2003 since we would need another public referendum in order to be able to use bond funds (assuming any money is left after construction) to create more parking spaces.
6. Ken Disko also showed the committee the possibility of adding approximately 40 spaces by extending the current parking lot further south along Rahway Avenue. It would cost approximately $77,000-100,000 and would require removing some tall trees. This proposal may be feasible after construction at the high school is completed and it is determined that there are funds remaining from the high school bond issue and that they can be used for such a purpose (September 2004 rather than 2003). A referendum may also be necessary. The Committee briefly considered a curved driveway in front of the school primarily to alleviate the drop-off and pick-up congestion in front of the high school and to provide handicapped and visitors parking. No cost estimates were provided but this possibility was not discarded for future consideration.