By Lt. Gerald Henkel, Pennsauken Township Police Department
In the past few months, the Pennsauken Police Department has received numerous calls about residential parking issues. These complaints are especially important to our residents who live on streets where parking spots are more limited. The most common situations are related to abandoned vehicles, trailers, boats, and commercial vehicles. In an effort to alleviate these complaints, we would just like to remind residents that there are several Township ordinances that address these complaints. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for all the residents of the community.
Township ordinance 296-4 prohibits the parking of “motor homes, campers, landscaping trailers, boat trailers, car or other vehicle trailers, or other recreational trailers” and the like on Township streets. There is an exception. If a trailer is being actively used for commercial purposes (work is actually being performed on site), and that trailer is placed in a safe location, not a traffic hazard, and warning cones and/or signs are placed at their rear of the trailer, it can be temporarily parked on the street.
Township ordinance 299-10 prohibits the overnight parking of trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 7,000 lbs. on any street in Pennsauken between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. on any day.
When it comes to abandoned vehicles, a car, truck, etc. is considered abandoned if it does not have any registration or has not been moved for an extended period of time. So a vehicle can have a valid registration and still be considered abandoned if it hasn’t been moved for a while. Examples of this include a vehicle with flat tires; debris on or around the vehicle; and our inability to make contact with the registered owner. When reported, Pennsauken Police place an “Abandoned” sticker on the vehicle and give the owner 48 hours to remove it. After the 48 hours, the vehicle gets impounded.
If any resident has any questions, they can contact the Pennsauken Township Police Department’s Traffic Division at (856) 488-0080 x2207 or ghenkel@pennsaukenpolice.org.
