Parking along Main Street in Medford Village is a very simple process. Vehicles are able to leave as much space as they want between others vehicles as long as they are parked within the shoulder, away from any “no parking” zone or blocking a driveway.
However, the future of parking on Main Street may include parking within a designated marked space.
Medford Township Council is exploring the idea of adding parking stripes along Main Street in Medford Village.
Mayor Chris Buoni brought the idea to council after a local business owner told him Burlington County would allow the township to paint parking spaces if the township would pay for it. Buoni added the township has not spoken to the county about this possibility yet.
All council members were in favor of looking into such a plan if it were to benefit the local businesses. Councilman Brad Denn said adding parking stripes would increase safety along the road.
One of the big questions arising from the discussion was whether painting parking spaces would increase or decrease street parking capacity. Councilman Jeff Beenstock felt such a project would allow more cars to park along the road.
“If we were able to line the streets, people may park more efficiently,” Beenstock said.
Councilman Frank Czekay said the township needs to take a closer look at whether parking capacity would be increased. He noted some areas are no parking zones along the road, and the painted spaces would have to be a certain size. Township engineer Dante Guzzi said street parking spaces are typically 22 feet long.
“Sometimes, it can end up leaving less parking spaces,” Czekay said.
The other issue was who would pay for the project. Buoni said the county may ask the township to fund the project, even though Main Street is a county road. None of the council members were willing to go into detail about the cost before talking to the county about the project.
“We would have to reach out to the county and figure out what their requirements are,” Buoni said.
Buoni said the township is only having preliminary discussions about the possibility of parking spaces and nothing concrete is in the works. The township plans to get feedback from the Medford Business Association and its Medford Village East subcommittee before reaching out to county officials.
Buoni said the township would only move forward with the idea if the local businesses were on board and it were to be a benefit to Medford Village.
