By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
A FedEx van had just made a delivery Tuesday morning on 43rd Place when it pulled out on the road at the same time as a commercial truck heading in the opposite direction.
Both vehicles were barely able to squeeze by each other, with seemingly only a foot or two to spare.
After listening to complaints from the public about the narrow road, Sea Isle City is going to ban parking on the north side of 43rd Place from Park Road to the bay to create more space for traffic.
City Council introduced an ordinance Tuesday to prohibit parking on the north side of 43rd Place. The police department has recommended the parking ban to improve safety and traffic flow.
“The administration believes this is a logical ordinance that addresses public safety concerns and recommends its approval by City Council,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
The ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing and final vote at the May 6 Council meeting. The 9 a.m. meeting falls on a Saturday as part of the city’s annual Community Day celebration.
The ordinance also adjusts loading zone hours for commercial vehicles on 43rd Street at Park Road. Although their names are similar and they are adjacent to each other, 43rd Street and 43rd Place are different streets.
Loading and unloading zone hours on 43rd Street at Park Road are being changed to 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. between May 1 and Oct. 1 each year. Currently, the hours are 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to the ordinance.
City Solicitor Paul Baldini said that by ending the loading zone hours at 5 p.m., it will help alleviate traffic congestion in the area for customers heading to local restaurants for dinner.
Both 43rd Place and 43rd Street pass through the historic Fish Alley neighborhood, an enclave of some of Sea Isle’s most popular waterfront restaurants.
Mike Monichetti, owner of Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant at the corner of Park Road and 43rd Place, called the city’s parking ban on the north side of 43rd Place an “excellent idea.”
“I think the flow pattern of traffic will run a lot more smoothly,” he said.
Without the parking ban, it would be more difficult for fire trucks and other ambulances to respond to emergencies on 43rd Place when there are traffic bottlenecks, Monichetti pointed out.
