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Politics & Government

Mayor To Discuss Intermediate School Curb With Freeholder

County Engineer said that a no parking section on the Bay Avenue curb would likely increase speeding on the road.

Mayor Jay Gillian said on Saturday that he will meet with Cape May County Freeholder William Morey on Tuesday morning to discuss a no parking zone on Bay Avenue outside of the Ocean City Intermediate School, between 18th and 20th streets.

Gillian said that he wanted to install a no-parking zone outside of the school as a safety measure, to create better sightlines for pedestrians, adding that he wanted to be proactive and stop an accident before it happened.

According to an article in The Gazette, the county disagrees with Gillian's decision, and the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders voted on Thursday to urge the city to remove the yellow paint from the curb on Bay Avenue, which is a county road.

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"I'm a big policy and procedure guy," said Gillian, but he used the example of parking changes during Night in Venice, saying that the city does not consult with the county during that annual event.

Gillian also said that there are state regulations that do call for parts of the road to be designated no-parking, but County Engineer Dale Foster said that, while there might be some state regulations that would apply to some of the area on that stretch of road, they do not apply for as long of a stretch as was designated by the city.

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Foster also said on Saturday, after speaking at an , that, while introducing a no parking policy on the street would improve sightlines for pedestrians, it would also widen the road, which would lead to drivers increasing their speed.

Both Foster and Gillian expressed a desire to move forward.

"We just want to come up with a solution that works for everyone," said Foster.

Gillian said that it's time for everyone to "put their personalities aside and do what will work for the kids."

He also expressed surprise about the response to his actions.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal...this just didn't come out of the blue, we've been working for years," he said. "For me, painting the lines, I thought that I was part of the team."

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