It’s déjá vu all over again.

Much like the discussion that took place in December when the Brunswick Town Council debated allowing the purchase of overnight parking permits for residents on Longfellow Avenue, questions arose Monday night when the same consideration was given for residents on Page Street.

The council voted unanimously to allow the purchase of overnight parking placards that would allow residents to park up to two vehicles on Page Street, while also banning parking on the street between Maine and Union streets — for those without placards — from 1-6 a.m. The measure, urged by Councilor Jane Millett, was done with safety — and parking availability — in mind.

Millett said her motivation for supporting the restrictions was based on a “concern for safety equipment, particularly fire engines and ambulances” that may have difficulty accessing houses along the street crowded with parked cars. She also noted a letter submitted to the council signed by several Page Street residents favoring the overnight ban.

In addition, some residents had complained to the council that plows and other public works equipment were unable to get to the curb because cars belonging to Bowdoin College students were parked there for days at a time, sometimes blocking residents’ driveways.

Sound familiar? Yes, those were the same type of complaints and concerns voiced in the Longfellow Avenue situation.

The solution of allowing residents to buy parking placards for a minimal fee — $25 — isn’t perfect, but it does allow residents to have a choice, something that had been lacking.

Apparently, though, some, like Councilor John Richardson, don’t see it that way.

“I hate that we’re beginning to force residents in our town to pay to park in front of their homes,” Richardson said at Monday night’s meeting.

What he fails to realize is that residents are not being forced to pay to park in front of their homes. What he fails to realize is that residents now have the choice to either pay a nominal fee to be able to park on the street or not park during the overnight hours. They don’t have to pay to park, but they can choose to do so. What he fails to realize is that this is a solution residents are asking to be implemented.

This solution will keep nonresidents — a.k.a. Bowdoin College students — from taking spaces away from residents whose homes are on these streets. So, this is helping Brunswick residents, not hurting them. It would be nice if Richardson realized that.

As for the resident who said Bowdoin College was in a better position than the town to deal with students parking on the street, that’s a mystery. The college can’t control where their students park on public streets; the town can pass ordinances that do. And that’s exactly what the council has done in creating the permit system.

The council has taken steps to eliminate safety concerns due to congested streets, allowed residents the ability to park in front of their homes once again and made the best of a situation that occurs in every college town in America.

The next time this issue comes up — and it very well could come up again — the town council should realize that they have as good a template for handling it as they’re going to have and approve it without the posturing that seems to have come up in the case of parking on Longfellow and Page.