Recently, Patch featured a story that explained a pilot parking program at the Bellmore and Merrick LIRR stations.
We found out from many of you that the two and four-hour parking is not enforced in neighborhoods around the train station, creating a difficult parking situation for you, neighbors and guests. In a poll, 49 percent of responders said the non-enforcement is a big issue as well as an inconvenience to your quality of life.
Samantha Kaufman, a Bellmore resident, said that on her street, there are signs for two-hour parking, but they aren't enforced at all.
"[At] rush hour, the traffic up and down the block is obscene. How can cars pass each other when there are cars lined up and down both sides of the street? I come home from work around 5:30 p.m. and fight to get into my driveway because there are lines of cars impulsively hocking behind me to move and a stream of cars speeding past me to make the green light at the corner," she said.
In addition, Kaufman said that the amount of people rushing down Wilson Avenue to get home create a dangerous situation for the neighborhood.
"The [people] that are speeding home from the train would do anything to make the light at the corner," she said.
Michael Klatsky, a Merrick resident, said that although many homeowners have a driveway and garage, the fact that many commuters take up street parking is a problem when families have multiple vehicles or when guests are invited.
"The local residents and Merrick Woods Homeowners Association dislike people leaving cars in front of our homes, but the street is a public street and I understand that everyone has the right to park there. However, parking is a commodity and should be priced according to demand, with either restrictions or money," he said.
Klatsky also pointed out that when the East Side Tunnel is completed, it may affect parking and create an even bigger problem.
"Doubling the number of trains will lead to half empty trains, even at rush hour, because although customers want to ride, there are only so many homes near the station and very limited parking," he said.
However, Klatsky noted that when residents ask, violations in Merrick are issued.
Kaufman explained that current plans are just not enough. "Something needs to be done," she said.
(Editor's note: Patch reached out to the First and Seventh Precincts, the Nassau County Police Public Information Office and the Nassau County Traffic Ticket and Violations Agency. No one at any of these offices was able to address the issue.)
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