Overnight commercial vehicle parking in Ventnor. Occasionally an eyesore. Sometimes necessary.
‘The subject rears its ugly head every so often’, says Ventnor Police Chief, Doug Biagi. He has to respond with enforcement.
Message from Ventnor Police Chief Doug Biagi:
The Overnight Parking Ordinance has both positives and negatives. Depending on how it affects you personally is where your position on the topic usually finds itself.
We, the police, enforce this specific local law on complaint, even though we could blanket the city with enforcement every night.
What usually happens, as did with this incident, is that a neighbor in an area doesn’t like the work trucks in her neighborhood and calls the police to enforce it. We issue warnings first and then, tickets.
The offender that receives the ticket usually feels as if they’re personally being persecuted and decide to drive through town to see if anyone is in violation and then complain about why the other vehicles in violation aren’t being ticketed.
This is where we are now.
The police are placed into a position where we have to issue because of complaints. It creates a domino effect where people that normally wouldn’t be issued because their neighbors tolerate trucks on the streets in their neighborhood.
It’s a necessary law created for all the correct reasons but may need some tweaking.
Ventnor Police Chief Biagi
There is a need to be more consistent with the needs of individuals that take trucks home from work, or only have a truck for work and personal use. This is where we are presently.
Ventnor Mayor Beth Holtzman and Commissioners Landgraf and Kriebel are aware of the problem. We’ll discuss it at the next Commission meeting on Thursday, Aug 26.
I hope this helps explain the situation. I’ll keep everyone updated. Feel free to comment either way so I can get a read on where we stand as a city.
Ventnor Police Chief, Doug Biagi.
Editors Note: Ventnor Police Chief Biagi will retire later this year. Make sure you thank him for his many years of service to the community.
Public Comment: Ventnor Commercial Vehicle Parking
What are the options? A good one would be to allow residents with work trucks apply for parking permit. (no fee) I appreciate the explanation as to why we got this after years of never receiving one. If the answer becomes “it must be parked in a driveway”… because that’s not always feasible, it will be a problem.
I feel for people who have no choice but to park on the street. Some have only a work vehicle as their only vehicle. For these people, I suggest a special permit should be given to those who apply for it.
I certainly understand the problem it creates for people with work vehicles. Shame on those stirring the pot and making this an issue for your hardworking neighbors. Not liking the way something looks shouldn’t take precedent on one’s livelihood. Hopefully the right change will occur to ensure a reasonable lens on public safety and not punish those (often in the trades) with these vehicles. Thanks for the update Chief!
Doug….I do not agree with the ordinance at all. My son has to park his work van at the house because it was issued to him by his company for his job. We can’t always have it on the driveway because we have two cars that sit low and we worry about the high tides. I’m aware of one neighbor who isn’t happy about it however it isn’t parked in front of her house therefore in my opinion….SHE SHOULD MIND HER OWN BUSINESS!
My fiancées company is in Hammonton and he has to drive home his work truck. Keeps waking up to tickets at 4 am. Obviously makes you feel a certain way towards your neighbor too. Like seriously maybe you need to get off your porch and go get a job and stop complaining about people that actually have to go to work.
I am in favor of limiting the size of work vehicles. The big box trucks make it hard to see when you are trying to make a turn. There is one that is consistently parked by Winchester and Rosborough. I always feel as if I am going to get hit when I turn left onto Winchester going to work. Add a trailer and it is even worse! A pickup truck or a regular size van could be allowed. They aren’t bigger than an SUV.
Thank you for the explanation, Chief. As for the eyesore, I am sure they have no problem with a work truck in front of their house when they need a plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc. “Eyesore” until they’re needed. Love the hypocrisy.
My family is one that’s affected by this ordinance my fiancée drives his work truck to and from work he literally leaves home at 4 am and doesn’t come home till 7 pm or later and because we don’t have a driveway (which is a luxury in this town) and he has to park his truck which is just an f350 which happens to have a commercial license on it he gets tickets when we notice others have actual commercial box trucks and jitneys up and down the streets in town. I feel there should be a way to help the working men that have no other transportation to and from work and I think someone neighbors need to be more understanding.
A work around was to get large magnetic colored rectangles (color of van truck etc) to hide the commercial name when parked. This met the requirement of the HOAs. It sounds silly but there is usually a way to get around these types of issues.My personal opinion is that the livelihood of the residents is more important than what some may consider an eye sore. As long as it’s not a fleet taking up the street it doesn’t bother me.
Police are being 100% fair. I do not drive a commercial vehicle. But some people do. This is how they make their living. I certainly do not have all the answers. But if a resident of Ventnor needs to park their work vehicle I do not have a problem with it. I’m always going to back honest hard working people.
What a time to attack people who are trying to work to support themselves or a family. We have a hard time right now in this country with people trying to survive. Maybe try to be a thoughtful person and stop complaining about people trying to make a living. Where have all the helpful Americans gone to in this area?
Live, work and pay Ventnor taxes….. need your help
Tough situation, no easy solution. My issue: trucks parked overnight in Margate on Ventnor and Atlantic Ave in Margate. They’re not on a jobsite, they’re just getting free exposure.
Two companies are the biggest ‘advertisers’. They should pay for the advertising.
Got a warning on my truck. My truck is not commercial. I was not allowed to park it on the street. I don’t even have a commercial vehicle. They are breaking my balls
Some truck owners use their vehicle as a rolling trash dumpster and leave it parked On the street for days until they decide to dump the trash. Claim it’s not a commercial vehicle but it is clearly used for construction jobs. My suggestion is to buy or rent a house with a driveway.
Perhaps commercial vehicles could park in their own driveways (if they have driveway), and have non-commercial vehicle park on the street.
It’s difficult to back out of our driveway with a commercial truck parking across the street and behind us.
Look at Fremont Ave in Ventnor Heights when you get a ticket. See all of limos and vans with commercial tags parked in front of his house.
Tell me it’s not fair. I’ve never seen a ticket on j’s vehicles. Why is that Chief? Why is it ok for that man, but for others, it’s not?
I see both sides of the issue at hand. Maybe not park on the busy streets or near corners. I’m sure people would have trouble back out of driveway with any vehicle behind the driveway.
There are cars that are old as well, so an eyesore I don’t buy for a minute.
Also if we can’t park them on the street, where do we park them? There is no lot provided by the city to park commercial vehicles.
But I know from the mayor to the chief and everyone in between is working on the issue. I’m confident there will be a compromise in the near future! Thanks Doug for your efforts