Lakeview Terrace parking challenges discussed

Stanhope — Residents of Stanhope’s Lakeview Terrace asked the council at their Tuesday meeting for leniency with a parking situation on their street. Lakeview Terrace residents initially approached the council at a meeting in November 2010 because they had been receiving summonses over the winter of 2009-10 for parking on their street. The borough does not allow on-street parking on Lakeview Terrace because the street cannot be plowed, and emergency vehicles cannot get through, with cars on the street. Mayor Diana Kuncken said the borough agreed to pave and stripe the parking area but residents came forward and said it has not been paved or striped and that it is difficult to maneuver there due to overly muddy conditions. “We’ll get stuck in the pit,” said Susan Many, a Lakeview Terrace resident. “Our neighbors have lost shoes there and never found them.” As of the September 27 meeting, no definite plan has been implemented. Residents said over the years they have dealt with the narrowness of the street and were never ticketed for overnight parking until the winter of 2009-10. “We have to be able to get a fire truck in there; we have to get an ambulance in there,” said Kuncken. “We’ll do our best to stay out of the town’s way when they have to plow,” said Michael Novack, another resident of the street. “The problem is everyone is stuck down there [the parking area on Lakeview Terrace and Roberts Place], it’s turned to mud.” Novack was concerned that if the street is not paved it will be difficult to navigate through in the wintertime. Borough Administrator Brian McNeilly said because of the large amount of rainfall over the summer that runoff from County Road 602, also known as Brooklyn Road, is contributing to bad conditions on Lakeview Terrace. “That problem needs to be rectified by the county,” said McNeilly. McNeilly is concerned that if the parking area on Lakeview Terrace and Roberts Place is paved an impervious surface will be created and the water will have nowhere to go. The council said they would explore the possibility of using stone or asphalt to pave the area. They also said they would speak with the police department about the street's ordinance, which forbids residents from parking on the street over two hours overnight. In other business Stanhope is planning another test of the fire siren on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 10 a.m. Stanhope is considering the possibility of accepting credit card payments and using a collection agency to recapture unpaid court fines in their shared court system with Hopatcong. Borough Administrator Brian McNeilly has met with the Hopatcong administrator regarding the proposal. McNeilly said the borough will be reviewing three abandoned properties which may be posing health and safety hazards due to debris. Borough Attorney Richard Stein said the borough can commission the DPW or a private contractor to clean up the properties, and place a lien against the properties, if the owners or mortgage companies do not come forward and take responsibility for them. Don Drake was chosen as Stanhope’s representative for the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee.