TOMS RIVER, NJ – Residents along Bayshore Drive in Toms River spoke out at Wednesday’s Toms River Township council meeting. The problem, residents say, is visitors who come to the area to gaze at the Barnegat Bay.
It’s one of the few public bayside vantage points where the Toms River meets the Barnegat Bay. It offers a clear view of the Route 37 bridge, Pelican Island, the Toms River, the Barnegat Bay, Good Luck Point and the southern towns along the Toms River.
Local residents want to stop outsiders from parking their vehicles there. Residents last night complained of people playing loud music and idling cars. One resident said he witnessed drug deals being made at the location.
The public road is lined with barriers to keep people from parking illegally along the bulkhead, but residents say that’s not enough. They say people come at all times of the day and night and create a public nuisance.
One resident said fumes from idling cars along the bay front drift into her home.
The township ordinance prohibits parking on the street between 10 pm and 6 am. There is a sign prohibiting fishing, crabbing and picnicking along the waterfront, however, no township ordinance could be found that prohibits those activities.
“People are idling for hours, so there’s the issue of fumes,” one resident said. “For four hours, they played Africa by Toto; it was maniacal.”
Part of the problem is that the location includes only six public parking spots along the road, about two football fields in length. It is a public beachfront area. The township owns the property along the water.
“We’ve responded over 30 times in the past two months,” Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little said.
Residents said police do not give tickets but simply ask the offenders to leave. Little said that was because most offenders were not repeat offenders, and his officers used their discretion not to issue tickets to first-time offenders.
“There are two reasons people park after 10 o’clock, and it’s not for the view,” one resident said. “One, they’re doing drugs, or two, they’re having sex, ok? That’s as plain as the nose on any of your faces. You’re now put on notice of a potential problem. If there’s drug deals that go bad, is the bullet going to come through my window?”
Residents called for a mandatory $250 fine for violating the parking ordinance. Residents submitted a petition to the council to close the parking spaces to the public. They are also calling for the public spaces to be closed.
Township engineer Robert Chankalian said the entire road was once head-in parking until the township installed a new bulkhead. He said one of the conditions of the permit from the New Jersey DEP to build the bulkhead required the township to provide public access to the beachfront. The six spaces were left to fulfill that legal access requirement.
Chankalian said the township could reverse that decision and close the waterfront to public access.