The right sense of direction

Anyone who has seen the situation would agree that the parking facilities for the housing in Long Branch along Ocean Avenue from South Bath Avenue to Laird Street are woefully inadequate.

Not surprisingly, people living in that area have recognized at least a partial solution to their problem can be found in the spaces created by the city when it converts Ocean Avenue to a one-way street during the summer.

A couple of years ago the city began doing that as a way to provide convenient beach parking.

Now residents are asking that the one-way plan for the road be extended throughout the year to make up for the parking shortfall they face every day.

There seems to be support for that plan from some City Council members, but they would be wise to reconsider.

As a two-way street, the roadway better serves the broader needs of the city.

It not only provides better access for cars and is safer for cars traveling along Ocean Avenue, it also provides a safer place for bicyclists and skaters to travel along the beachfront, a popular recreational activity for many people in and around the city, and one likely enjoyed by many of the people who now wish to take the same space for parking.

There may be a perception that the parking problem was created by the city’s beachfront redevelopment. That is not the case.

Previously, residents of the area were using the site known as "The Pit" to alleviate their parking problem. Unfortunately, the land was not theirs, and when it was sold to the builders of The Renaisance, that option was closed.

Now those residents are turning to the city to solve a problem that is as old as the buildings they live in.

That doesn’t seem reasonable.

While it might be nice for the city to step in and solve the problems of the area’s residents, the cost of doing so seems too high.