By Kevin Coughlin
Now that Morris Township has renewed its parking lease with the St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, the municipality is turning its attention to improving the parking lots at Convent Station.
Rail commuters should prepare to change their parking plans between Aug. 20-23, 2015. The Township has made alternative arrangements for you, and won’t enforce parking regulations during this period.
Detailed instructions are below.
As for the new lease with the church, Township Administrator Tim Quinn said the two-year deal for continued use of a church lot runs through June 2017 and pays the church $30,000 for the first year, and $30,600 for the second year.
The Township had paid $18,000 for each of the last for years.
This new agreement includes an option for a two-year renewal, with $600 increases in each year, Quinn said. The upcoming repaving will involve both the main train station lot and the church lot.
Here are those details from the Township; commuters should study them carefully:
NEWS RELEASE
Metered and Permit Parking Users:
Please be advised that the main Train Station lot, on Old Turnpike Road, and the Church Parking lot will be paved starting on Thursday night, August 20th and will run through Sunday, August 23rd.
During this time, NO PARKING will be permitted in the main Train Station Lot along Old Turnpike Road, or in the Church Parking Lot. Any late week or weekend parking must be in the lot behind the old post office (white building near the soccer field), or in the Met-Life Building parking lot (entering from Madison Avenue).
If you do not intend to return to remove your car before Thursday, August 20th, 7:00 PM, we ask that you park in either of those lots at the beginning of the week.
Any vehicles remaining in the lots or along Old Turnpike Road after 7:00pm will be towed to the Met-Life Parking Lot. Both lots and the roadway will be closed after 7:00 pm for paving and re-striping.
All work is proposed to be completed by Monday morning, however, since the Township constructed additional parking spaces in the Train Station Parking lot, the space numbering will not be completed by Monday morning.
Therefore, we request you park where you have been parking prior to the paving project. Once the spaces are numbered we will start enforcing the paid parking regulations. You will be notified of the start of enforcement in a separate letter from the Parking Authority. However, until this occurs, we will not be enforcing any parking regulations.
Parking will also be permitted along Barberry Road and Shepherd Place for this period of lot closure. All parking restrictions presently posted on the roadway will not be enforced for the 4 days of construction.
We thank you for your anticipated cooperation during this time and apologize for any inconvenience. Should you have any questions, please contact the Administrator’s Office at Morris Township Municipal Building – 973-326-7360. Thank you again for your anticipated cooperation during this repair work.
