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Jackson Day's Packed Parking Concerns Senior Communities
By Keith Hagarty
As the summer draws to a close each year, residents gear up to ring in autumn with the township's Jackson Day extravaganza.
However, for residents of the adult communities of Westlake and Winding Ways, the annual festival, which draws thousands of residents to the John F. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Park, can also become a major hassle thanks to the influx of illegally parked cars on Cooks Bridge Road.
With an estimated 12,000 people in attendance at Jackson's Independence Day festivities, the senior residents were faced with a firsthand glimpse of the congested parking situation leading into and out of their communities, according to Westlake resident John Walters.
"At the Fourth of July celebration, people were all parked in front of one of the entrances, and at the other one there were enough people and enough cars that it
was very difficult to get through," Walters
told the township council this week. "If there's any emergency vehicles
that need to get through- and we're a senior community, so that's often the case- they wouldn't be able to."
In addition, Walters said there is an ongoing problem with pedestrians on their way to the park using the Westlake streets and properties as a short-cut, often using a pathway in the wooded area connecting to the park.
The township administration has been in contact with the township police department, making them fully aware of the situation, said Mayor Mark Seda.
"Any cars parked in those areas (of the Westlake and Winding Ways entrances) will be towed at the owner's expense, so that should not be an issue from here on out," said Seda. "As far as cutting through the Westlake North woods into the park, I've spoken to most residents who live along the border of Johnson Park and Westlake, and for the most part, most of them haven't had a major problem."
While some Westlake residents have proposed the town erect fencing along the park's border, one of the sticking points, according to Seda, is that there is a makeshift trail created by neighboring residents over the years through the woods. It would make it difficult to deter outside pedestrians from also utilizing it.
"In doing so (constructing a fence), we would cut the backyards of Westlake residents off from the very thing they enjoy, which is the woods," said Seda.
Walters said the idea of fencing was proposed as merely a temporary solution in response to township-wide events held at the park, and not intended as a permanent fixture.
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