The Ridgewood Village Council on Wednesday will be discussing a request by the school district to require that Heermance Place be open to only those with parking permits, effectively booting high school students from spots during the day and giving teachers relief.The other place we used to park during school hours, a vacant lot across the street, has since had a huge house built on it. Students have been instructed to park in the Graydon parking lot, which I suppose is better than nothing.
Parking on Heermance meant one had access to a car or owned one outright. Students would generally arrive early to secure a spot. I can remember times when weeks would go by and the same cars would be there every morning in the same spots. Heermance was a place to meet and be seen by one's peers. It turned into a mad house immediately after school as buses arrived to transport students to various parts of town and Hohokus.
I never rode the Yellow School Bus to either GW or RHS. We lived inside the limit for the free ride. I maneuvered around this by walking, riding my bicycle or bugging my Mom or friends for a ride. I also could ride an Intercity Bus which was used by commuters to NYC. This would be quite an eye opener for students today as smoking was allowed on the bus. There were certain bus drivers who chain smoked and they would have an ash tray filled with cigarette butts in front of them. When you combined these drivers with students trying to grab a smoke, the bus often had a toxic air to it. The upside was it only cost a quarter to go to GW or RHS in the 1970s, which was a good deal. We could also see the bus from our kitchen window on Glenwood Road as it drove to the end of the line on Hillcrest Road. It then turned around and while it was doing that I could stroll up to the bus stop and wait for its return. This was very handy when it rained or when it was dark because daylight savings was in effect.
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