LOWER MERION — Lower Merion officials have put on temporary hold a plan that would make some changes to parking on a couple of streets near one of the township’s two public high schools.
The changes would affect parking regulations on a couple of smaller side streets between Penn Road and Sabine Avenue in Wynnewood.
At its Wednesday night committee meeting, commissioners discussed whether to recommend to the board of commissioners to allow the township secretary to advertise notice of intent to adopt an ordinance that would amend sections of the township code.
The regulation changes would establish prohibited parking at all times on the southwest side of Bolshover Road from Penn to Penwyn roads and on the northeast side of Penwyn Road from Penn Road to Sabine Avenue.
A second change would establish a four-hour parking restriction from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., except on Saturdays and Sundays along the southwest side of Penwyn Road from Sabine to Bolshover.
Finally, the proposed change would rename the school permit parking zone to school impacted zone, remove all references to issuing parking permits to Lower Merion High School students, and add Penwyn Road, both sides from Penn Road to Sabine Avenue, to school impacted zone to allow the issuance of two residential parking permits per household on Penwyn Road.
Gerald Adams, director of parking services for Lower Merion Township, said the discussion originated from a petition from residents living along the 400 block of Penwyn Road for a four-hour parking time zone due to the impact of high school students parking on the street.
The township then initiated a twice-per-day inspection of the roadway for 50 days. One inspection was done between 9 and 11 a.m., and the other was done between 1 and 3 p.m. The two inspections were done before and after the high school lunch periods, when students would be more likely to move their cars.
“At all times on the street, there were anywhere between four and 17 parking spaces available during these time windows,” Adams said. “We averaged approximately eight spaces open during these time windows during that 50 [day] periods of inspection.”
Adams said they do have issues with students parking too close to driveways and too far from the curbs, but they had their parking attendants and Lower Merion police in the area to ensure people were following the standard parking rules.
Initially, the township determined there were enough spaces. However, after residents told them that trash and fire trucks also had problems getting through the street, the township went back and took a second look.
After sending a firetruck down one of the streets, Lower Merion officials agreed when cars are parked on both sides, it could make it difficult for them to get through. They then agreed to make the recommended changes to the parking on the two streets.
Commissioner Gilda Kramer expressed concern that students will migrate to other nearby streets if the township restricts parking on the streets discussed in this possible ordinance change.
In the end, the committee agreed to table its recommendation for the parking changes until another safety study is done, and a study is completed to understand how the proposed changes could impact other nearby streets.
Originally Published: February 10, 2025 at 10:01 AM EST