I have a better idea. Allow overnight parking for commercial vehicles pay a PERMIT FEE based upon the size/weight of the vehicle and limit the amount of vehicles to a block. A nice big fat hefty fee since this town needs all the money it can get its hands on.

Who cares if a commercial vehicle is parked on the street over night! Take up a cause that affects peoples lives and someone actually cares about!

The problem is will it be reinforced? The curbs around my block are painted yellow cars constantly park at the yellow curbs .. No citations are being issued as it is!!

Statistically, more vehicles on the street at night leads to more crime, which leads to lower quality of life and lower real estate value; remediating this is a very worthwhile end to pursue if you ask me. Inviting the commercial vehicles to park somewhere and pay is a good, revenue generating idea, but not among residential streets. Perhaps in a new commercial lots towards Hartz Mountain? As far as enforcement goes, Concerned Parent, you're absolutely correct, we need to fund a "pays-for-itself" enforcement team to ticket and tow every vehicle in violation, as well as to address the many, other ordinances which are going unenforced. Every day that goes buy we're missing out on revenue. In the last 30 years, Bloomfield has allowed - either by rubber-stamped variance or negligence of enforcement - literally hundreds of heavy or commercial vehicles to park in backyards, on the street, and in public lots where they simply do not belong. To those of you who voted for "No", I don't think you've really thought through the long term effects of not addressing the situation. If you are interested in specific examples of how this currently negatively affects your house value let me know.

Yes, it matters. I would love to see a ban. This is a way to force people to use their driveways for commercial vehicles or to force employers to deal with where to park their vehicles. We have a huge problem in Watsessing Heights of cab companies, contractors and even transport companies parking multiple commercial vehicles on the streets. Taking up spaces that should be for home owners and creating a down trodden look to the neighborhood. I am not looking to decrease the value of my home and I am glad that the counsel is looking at ways to improve the value of our homes and just plain life in Bloomfield.

Just from a few comments from concerned citizens everyone agrees on one thing: PERMIT FEES. For instance, on Berkeley Avenue we have a florist who's trucks you NEVER see parked on the street, a former landscaper who thought he OWNED the street, complete with his own personal parking cones, and yet various commercial plated vehicles that come and go from time to time.

My biggest scratch you head moment is some home owners have 3 or more vehicles, a gigantic driveway or paved backyard, yet park their cars all over the neighborhood, never in front of their own house.

Meghan, jfc: Like.

Patch: Integrate comments with Facebook, not just the login.

I have to come back to this, because if anyone who add their comments think for a moment, they need to make a delivery rented a commercial truck and had to park on the street over night, shouldn't you get a pass for just keeping the truck on the street overnight if you were relocating to a home or apt you just got or moving out from a home or apt you are vacating?

I remember I got a pass from E Rutherford when I was moving out, but when I moved to N Arlington the cops nailed me for parking overnight when I moved there, then had the heart to call my home for donations several times, I said nicely, " I paid you already with the $88 check for the overnight parking commercial vehicle fine", never got a call from them since.

I guess that was a donation that was worth it's wait in gold.

I agree wholeheartedly with this ban. In the south end of town there are many houses that have no driveways and need the street space for parking their own vehicles. Commercial vehicles need to be accommodated elsewhere. If I agree there must be exceptions for someone who has rented a truck temporarily or if they need to park for just one night for some reason. The biggest issue, as someone else mentioned, is enforcement. We live on the border of East Orange, which forbids parking overnight on the street, period. Bloomfield instituted permit parking only for a few blocks in from EO in order to prevent EO residents from just parking their cars on our side of the town boundary. We have found that if this is happening despite the requirement for a Bloomfield permit, calling the police usually results in the offending car being ticketed.

Sorry, meant to say "I agree there must be exceptions..."

I agree that this is a problem, and should be dealt with.

However, I'm still more concerned about pedestrian safety, increased levels of traffic, and the unchecked speeding that is a problem everywhere in town. I thought after the numerous pedestrian deaths, and the tragic accident that took the life of one of our kids, that the council would have some proposals to address those issues first.

I agree but also disagree. I have a company truck that has commercial plates on them so where would you like me to park? It is a Chevy Tahoe with no markings on it and the only way of knowing it is for commercial use is by looking at the licence plates.When I park on the street, most of the time, it is right next to another Chevy Tahoe that a neighbor owns as his personal truck. Just because mine has commercial plates on them and the other one doesn't, why should I not be allowed to park on the street near my house but the other truck can? Yes I do agree commercial vans and other larger vehicles shouldn't be on the street but there should be some exceptions to the rule as well.

Unfortunately there is "no in between" in regards to a commercial plate. It is what is. If it's a personal commercial plate on a vehicle there is no reason why it can't be parked on your own property or parked on the commercial property instead. Just like the GSP, no commercial vehicles are permitted on it. The state troopers make no exceptions.

Jr: That's a totally healthy viewpoint and a valid concern. You want a beneficial ordinance that will be fair. The "devil is in the details" and individuals like yourself need to be represented when such an ordinance is drafted. As for the logic of it, vehicles used for commercial business purposes are inside the scope of the proposed ordinance because they are not personal vehicles. For my own background, what are the benefits of a commercial designation? Is it required of your type of business or did you do voluntarily? What Ward or Section do you live in? Thanks for the response!

The gentleman that lives (rents) next to me brings home a big commercial van every day. By the time evening rolls around he's parked it in the driveway off the street. He's even courteous to remove it off the street during the winter when there's snow on the ground so the plows can do their job. Not like some of the people on my block. If the rule/law/ordinance is no commercial vehicles are allowed to park on the streets overnight, that's what it is. Residents can park on the street whether they have a driveway or not.

i think a comercial van is ok to park, it is no bigger than a mini van , why should you penalize a small business owner from parking his vehicle in his driveway ESPECIALLY if he a a homeowner and pays ridiculously high property taxes.

I believe actually if you have commercial plates you are supposed to have marking on the truck; at least that is what Councilwoman Dunigan stated Monday night.

Mark, I am in sales and have to commute to NYC often for meetings or to drop off supplies to the workers. Certain areas of NYC, the only way to park is by having commercial plates because it is cheaper for a company to pay for them instead of putting the vehicles in lots 10 times a day. To answer your other question, I live in the middle of town on a quiet side street near the 7-11 on Broad St.

Interesting to see 21 comments and 11 votes. Also interesting to see how many residents with empty driveways still park on the street.

This would be great, though parking laws already in effect are barely enforced.

<i>Statistically, more vehicles on the street at night leads to more crime</i>

And what statistics suggest this relationship? I find it difficult to accept that claim at face value.

Yes, local businesses should not be parking multiple vehicles on the street to the detriment of residents. However, there may be residents who must bring a commercial vehicle home with them overnight because they are tradespeople, own a small business, or are assigned the vehicle by their employer, but they have no off-street parking available to them.

Careful consideration needs to be given to avoid unfairly penalizing Bloomfield residents who are simply trying to make a living.