PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. New parking laws on Ashland Avenue in Pleasantville eliminated multiple street parking spots in front of residential homes. Yet the residents that are most affected by the new law say they are not up in arms about the restricted parking, in fact they are happy with it.
Its become such a nuisance over the years with parents parking in front of the house waiting to pick up their kids or turning around here and making U-turns, so this change is welcome, said Pleasantville resident Peter Laviano, who lives at 70 Ashland Avenue.
Laviano was so accepting of the new parking laws because his house is directly adjacent to the Ashland Avenue entrance to the Pleasantville Middle School. Laviano said that the street area in front of his home would become crowded with cars of parents during drop-off and pick-up time during the school year. The issue is something he says he and his father have complained to the village about dating back to the late 80s. With the new parking laws that were put in place earlier this week, parking will be restricted 120 feet north of the entrance, as well as 30 feet south of the entrance on Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. except during the months of July and August.
The Pleasantville Board of Trustees ultimately decided on the new law in order to make the intersection safe for passing cars as sight would become impaired as parents parked so close to the corner of the intersection. Village Trustee member Brian Skarstad said at a December Board of Trustees meeting that the law is enforced during a specific time frame so that residents such as Laviano could utilize the street parking during times when school is not in session.
We want to keep that area clear for safety reasons but at the same time we dont want to penalize the residents there by not allowing them to use the parking when schools not going on, Skarstad said.
Suzanne Largey of Pleasantville lives on the south side of the middle school entrance and is also affected by the new parking law. Although she said that she is not affected by the law, she was surprised to hear about it.
The village never notified us they just put up the new signs so I was just curious as to whether or not they were going to let the residents know they were doing this, Largey said.
Representatives from the village of Pleasantville were unavailable to comment on notifying residents of the restrictions.
Although Laviano is pleased about the new law, he remains skeptical if it will work.
Only time will tell I guess if people actually follow it, Laviano said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Pleasantville and receive free news updates.