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Mayor defends graduation‑day parking ban, cites years of resident safety complaints
Summary
Fairhaven's mayor defended a decision to prohibit street parking for Red Bank Regional's graduation as a safety measure, citing years of resident complaints, unused campus parking, and recent vandalism; residents largely supported the move and urged faster long‑term fixes.
The mayor of the Borough of Fairhaven defended the council's decision to prohibit street parking on several residential streets for Red Bank Regional's graduation day, saying the move was driven by repeated safety complaints over several years.
The mayor told the council the restriction, announced six weeks before the ceremony, was part of a process shaped by multiple committees, staff and public input and was not a sudden act of retaliation. "This was a decision shaped by years, documented problems, discussed publicly, made with input from multiple individuals, committees, and staff," he said.
He cited resident reports of street racing, excessive speeding, blocked driveways, parking in front of fire hydrants, students crossing a busy county road, and multiple near misses. He also said borough staff documented many open parking spaces on campus while students continued to park on neighborhood streets: "On the afternoon of May 5, there were 92 open parking spots... On the afternoon of June 10, there were 171 open spots," he said, presenting those counts to argue that on‑campus spaces could have been better used.
The mayor said the borough had repeatedly requested the district's help — including a May 27 memo signed by every council member asking for collaboration — but that the district later stopped engaging. He also noted examples of vandalism and harassment around graduation, including shaving‑cream graffiti and reports of students making obscene gestures at residents, to explain the urgency of the measure.
Residents who addressed the council during the public‑comment period largely praised the council's action. One Cambridge Avenue resident said the street had "effectively become a high school parking lot" and described near misses that made her reluctant to let her child play outside. Another resident thanked the mayor for "grounding us in truth and understanding" and urged continued communication.
The mayor said the borough remains open to working with RBR and offered concrete, nonfinancial proposals — such as funding a parking study, student‑led solutions, tree plantings and shuttle arrangements — to reduce neighborhood impacts. He said the borough may pursue permanent restrictions beginning in September if necessary.
The council did not take formal action on a long‑term ordinance at this meeting but said the topic will be on a summer agenda and that the borough aims to have solutions in place by the start of the next school year.
