Islanders UBS arena parking causing frustration in Elmont

We always knew parking was going to be a problem when the UBS arena was announced. So now with UBS finally open it's no surprise that community members in Elmont are complaining about parking issues stemming from New York Islanders games at their new arena.

CBS New York reported some community members complaining about an unexpected amount of hockey fans parking in local streets on game days.

New York Islanders: Issues with parking in Elmont

Community members have a case to be made here. The video's CBS shared during their reporting aren't too pretty. Local streets are totally flooded with cars turning two way streets into one-ways and essentially into parking lots.

Now to be fair, fans parking on local streets was always going to be an issue. Fans will always look to skirt paying parking prices on game day. That was the case at the Coliseum. Heck, it's the case forevery NHL arena and its local community.

So what's the fix? Is there anything that can be done now to ease the concerns from the community?

Ideally getting the westbound link for the LIRR could help but that won't open until next summer. The Islanders still have a ton of home games between now and then. So that's out of the question.

Getting the police to direct traffic seems like a smart idea. Police presence to help move traffic is something that is evident in most NHL arenas. Certainly ones with traffic issues in major urban settings. Heck, even we here in Ottawa had police present to direct traffic and the arena is well outside the urban center of the city.

The New York Islanders indicated to CBS that they are "working to strengthen support and expand restrictions". Perhaps fans and Elmont residents will see what that means in the next Isles home game this Thursday (assuming they still play that game).