CAPE MAY POINT — Borough Commission wants to crack down on contractors leaving commercial trailers on Cape May Point’s street for extended times and sometimes overnight.
Mayor Anita VanHeeswyk, Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger and Commissioner Suzanne Yunghans discussed the issue Jan. 28.
“One of the issues is trailers are parked too close to stop signs and it’s an issue when the trailers are here during the day,” VanHeeswyk said. “Cape May has dealt with it [by ordinance], and we can certainly look at how we want to deal with it from our point of view.”
The mayor added that an ordinance could require the trailers be parked on the work site property instead of on the road, but noted some work sites have multiple trailers. Geiger asked about the enforceability of the issue at hand, specifically with overnight parking.
“If the issue is somebody parking too close to the stop sign, maybe we get Cape May [police], to use the bad word, ‘ticket,’ people who were too close to stop signs,” Geiger said. “If it’s one property with stop signs and the issues, maybe we take care of it that way, or do we really feel we want to have it [as] a ticket offense or summons offense.”
The length of some projects also is proving problematic.
“In some instances, these projects are taking well over a year and we’ve had cases where there are various subs and they’ll bring their trailers with equipment, unhook their truck and leave the trailer overnight because it’s cheaper to drive their truck back,” VanHeeswyk said.
She added there was an instance in which five to six trailers were left during a large portion of a construction project on a busy street.
“I think the bigger problem is during the day, when there is traffic, and having them move trailers from midnight to 8 a.m. doesn’t solve the problem of the street being lined with trailers,” VanHeeswyk said. “I see that as being a little dangerous with kids and bicycles on the street.”
She proposed charging a fee for leaving behind trailers, similar to the fee charged for dumpsters.
“Maybe charging a fee for leaving a trailer on the street for a period of time might be a deterrent,” she said.
Department of Public Works Supervisor Bill Gibson said having trailers on the street can delay emergency vehicles.
“I’ve already had an instance two weeks ago, trying to get down Stites Avenue with the fire truck. I had to get out and go to the contractors because we couldn’t fit and they had to come out and move a truck parked across from a trailer,” Gibson said. “Even just telling them they can’t keep it here overnight will eliminate a lot of them because they’re not going to bring it back until they need it again.”
Gibson said it was not uncommon for contractors to leave trailers when they go to job sites in Cape May.
“The problem with construction trailers is we have small streets and it takes up more room than a contractor’s van,” Gibson said. “If you think about it, they bring the trailer here and unload the equipment if they know they can’t leave the trailer here overnight.”
She said the lack of regulations prompts contractors to leave the trailers behind.
“Knowing they can let it sit there is why they let it sit there,” Gibsons said. “90 percent of the time, there is no reason for the trailer to be there.”
Yunghans asked Gibson if the trailers hindered the snow removal after the early January storm.
“When we know we’re going to get snow, we go around to contractors and tell them to take the trailers because we’re going to have to plow,” he said. “Somehow, they’re very quick to take them home, but as soon as the roads are clear they bring them back.”
VanHeeswyk asked solicitor John Amenhauser if there were the potential to charge a fee for construction trailers being left during the day.
“I would have to look at it because it’s a vehicle, in a sense, typically allowed to park on the street,” Amenhauser said. “I’m not sure if you could discriminate against trailers, and charge a fee that a regular sedan or truck might be able to do.”
Geiger brought up landscaping trucks with trailers and differentiated between the types.
“You might not be able to prevent them in the daytime, but overnight parking may be enough of a nudge to say don’t leave it here,” Geiger said. “I think we would have to explore how that could be enforced.”
The Cape May ordinance mentions a 2,000-pound weight quantifier for trailers, which the commissioners said may make sense to remove from their definition. VanHeeswyk said using the Cape May ordinance as a template would be a good start.
“John would have to work with the [wording] because, with mobile homes and campers, there are some people packing up and ready to leave and will park the trailer overnight,” Geiger said. “Do we want to include that our private citizens sometimes have to have something parked outside of their house for short term, versus what I think we’re trying to do is perceived abuse of what is going on with the construction.”
Amenhauser agreed that the ordinance was needed more for commercial purposes than for private citizens. Clerk Elaine Wallace said she would investigate the ordinance wording on whether the police and/or code enforcement monitors the trailers.
“I think commercial is a better word,” VanHeeswyk said. “This is a good start with the overnight concept. We can look at what John comes up with for our next work session.”
Geiger said she thought ticketing would be the easiest way to enforce a ban on overnight parking.
Amenhauser said he would prepare an ordinance.
“I agree with Commissioner Geiger, it does seem like here it has to be just the police that are enforcing [it] based on the hours of restriction,” Amenhauser said. “There’s no way a code enforcement officer is working between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.”
VanHeeswyk said if anything needs to be tweaked or changed, it can be done during a work session. Geiger added she was planning to speak with Cape May police about their trailer ordinance.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
