Business has right to use street for parking
Mona Greenberg starts her May 7 tirade ("Resident Upset With Business Using Street for Parking," News Transcript, Letters to the Editor) with a simple statement: Shame on Westpark Pediatrics (for instructing its employees to park on nearby Country Lane because its own parking lot is too small for patients and staff). I say shame on Mona Greenberg on several counts.

First, contrary to the elitist attitude of all too many people, the streets in front of their homes are public streets for public use, not for the exclusive use of the residents and their friends.

I went by Westpark the day after (May 8) her letter was published; yes, its lot was overflowing, but nobody was parked on Greenberg's Country Lane, except a couple of local residents.

Several other times I drove by, the lot was mostly empty and again nobody was parked on Country Lane. At times the lot was so empty that I had to call to confirm that the business is open daily, which it is from Monday to Friday.

So the "problem" seems to be more the exception, not the rule. By the way, Country Lane is more than 250 feet along Taylors Mills Road away from Westpark's location, and Greenberg's house is several hundred feet in from Taylors Mills Road.

Second, Greenberg gives various lame excuses for her whining, but never said that she was ever denied parking for her car(s). How could she?

With Manalapan's 75-foot setback requirement, everyone has plenty of driveway parking even if their garages are filled. She comes across to me as a busybody with too much time on her hands. And I question whether she's griping for herself or for her neighbors as well.

If the latter, why don't they go to a Township Committee meeting and ask that the noparking ban on Taylors Mills Road between Westpark and Country Lane be removed? That would free up enough parking for about 14 cars. Why let perfectly good pavement go to waste?

The distance from the curb to the center stripe on Taylors Mills Road is about 20 feet, more than adequate to allow parking without interfering with moving traffic. If necessary, the stripe could be moves 2 or 3 feet off center.

And just to be sure that commuters do not tie up the spaces all day, they could be signed so parking is allowed from a halfhour before until one hour after Westpark's normal business hours.
Raymond Kostanty
Manalapan