Although the shopping district in Allentown has shrunk down to only Hamilton and 7th Streets, the meter district remains as it did during the heydays of the 1950's. The meters extend from Walnut to Chew, from 5th to 10th, well over 1000 meters in 20 sq. blocks. Parking meters extend out to 10th and Chew Sts, three full blocks beyond the closest store.* These meters are a defacto penalty for the residents, mostly tenants. In essence, it is a back door tax on Allentown's poorest citizens. The apologists claim the tenants can purchase a resident meter pass, however their friends and visitors cannot. To add insult to injury, in 2005, to help finance a new parking deck for the arts district, the Parking Authority doubled the meter rate and fines. Testimony to City Council permitting the rate increase indicated it was favored by the merchants. At that time I documented to the Council that in fact the merchants were not informed, much less in favor. The vote was 5 to 2, with Hershman and Hoover dissenting
* I used the above copy on my posting of October 3, 2007. In the past several weeks the Parking Authority finally removed the meters in the 900 block of Chew St, 50 years beyond their legitimate need.
UPDATE: The post above is reprinted from September 2009. I have published dozens of posts on the Parking Authority. In 2005, I conducted two press conferences on their abuses; One conference was at 10th and Chew Streets, and concerned the oversized meter zone. The second conference, directly in front of their office, concerned the fabricated merchant survey that they presented to City Council. Old tricks die hard. Forward ahead to 2015, and the Parking Authority will once again penalize both existing merchants and residents. The new plan is to double the meter parking rate from $1 an hour, to $2, and extend the metering time to 10:00pm. They claim that the merchants are in favor of this plan. Although I will not conduct my own survey, as I did 2005, their survey defies logic. Why would any of the few surviving merchants want their customers submitted to a destination city parking rates in Allentown? Despite the hype, Allentown is not Miami Beach or N.Y.C.. In reality, just as the taxpayers are subsidizing the arena zone, now the merchants and residents will be subsidizing the arena plan through punitive parking rates.
UPDATE Memorial Day Weekend 2015: I did end up asking several merchants, and no, they were not surveyed. Eight years from the original date of this post, and the Authority is still up to the same shenanigans. Reilly's City Center tenants, merchants and customers will get a free pass for the Authority's inconvenient parking lots. Other existing tenants in the NIZ, such as the south side of the 900 block of Walnut Street, will not be eligible for residential parking permits. If you have a problem with any of this, remember, you must now put money in the meter at night, before complaining to City Council.
UPDATE MARCH 20, 2020: As of noon yesterday, the Parking Authority suspended tickets in the residential permit zones. However, normal parking meter tickets will continue. This would have of course punish merchants still open for business during this virus crisis. However, while there are virtually no merchants left on Hamilton Street since the NIZ revitalization, the punishment would have mostly affect the minority merchants on 7th Street....or in other words, life as usual in Allentown. Governor Wolf has declared that all non-essential businesses must close. Will the monster also now stand down?
UPDATE OCTOBER 20, 2020: Numerous voters trying to drop off their ballots at Government Center at 7th and Hamilton, report that the monster has awoken, and is giving out tickets.
UPDATE AUGUST 10, 2021: I've been writing about the Parking Authority corruption for over fifteen years. You will not read about this corruption in the Morning Call, because the paper has always benefitted from their association with it, going back to the days of Park & Shop.
The last day that I went into center city allentown was 1972. I went to the library which was then downtown on hamilton. I parked, fed the meter and noted the time. I ran into the library and did the research i wanted to do. I watched the clock and as I crossed hamilton to my car a meter maid was standing at my car waiting for the meter to click off, which it did as i I got to my car. She ordered me not to move my car until she wrote me a ticket. I swore I would never spend any money in downtown allentown again and I have not.
ReplyDeleteThe APA is a corrupt, self enriching, autonomous organization with, as with everything else having to do with government in the city, exempt from any proper scrutiny. And so it goes in Allentown and it is what it is as too few bother to even care. Thanks Mike, you have been one of the very few exceptions.
ReplyDeleteThe Parking Authority doesn't even honor their own laws. They illegally impounded my car charged me a towing fee and stole my license plate. When I tried to get my license plate back they told me I owed $160 more. I asked if I payed the $160 if I would get my plate back they told me yes I would. I paid the $160 and they refused to give me my plate. The towing company charged me another $260 for illegally towing my car and refused to release the car to me for another 3 day charging me over $500 in storage fees. The only way I was able to get my car back was telling A1 towing that Penn Dot reported my License plate stolen when I called them and told them that the parking authority towed my car and illegally took my license plate. I threatened A1 Towing that i was going to call the police for haven a my car stolen on their property. The Allentown Parking Authority owner JB Morgan and the owner of A1 Towing should be thrown in the same cell as the past Allentown Mayor is in because they are Thieves with their extortion racket!
ReplyDeleteMike...I greatly appreciate the efforts you, and the others who have submitted comments on your webpage, have taken to bring these atrocities to light. I recently found myself wrongfully issued a parking citation, not for failure to pay - which I indeed did do but, for backing into the space I paid to park. There were no signs anywhere near the space, I took photos and a video of the lot where I received the citation, both at the time of receiving it and 4 days later. The back of the citation specifically lists 3 options to appeal the citation: phone, in person, or online. First, I called; I was told in order to apply for an appeal I would need to drive down in person. Second, I went to the website and filled out the application to appeal, for which I received email confirmation in explicit detail outlining everything I had entered into the application. I received a voicemail message from someone at the Parking Authority, a few days afterwards, informing me that the ticket was indeed valid because there IS a sign where I parked stating "Head In Parking Only"; furthermore the caller stated if I wanted to appeal, I would need to, again, drive down in person. This message was left on my voicemail 10 days after receiving the citation. I drove back down the next day, and what do you know...they erected a new sign at the parking space I was parked in; yes, I took another photo. They put up a sign 10 days after issuing me the citation and are trying to tell me it was there all along. I told them numerous times I had photographic and video evidence proving there was no sign posted at the time of receiving the citation; do they really think people don't take pictures of these things or that it is such a difficult task to take a picture these days with mobile phones??? Have you, or any of the other contributors to this page, had any luck finding someone to assist with addressing issues with the Parking Authority or finding an attorney who is willing to go toe to toe with them in court? It does not surprise me in the least that the Morning Call refuses to go to bat for the citizens of the Lehigh Valley; the paper has deteriorated into nothing more than bird cage liner these days, IMHO. Has anyone tried asking for assistance from WFMZ? I would think issues like these would be something you would see in a 'Help Me, Howard'-type segment of the local news...either in print or on cable/internet. For those who aren't familiar...'Help Me, Howard' is one specific segment on a television station in Florida that investigates and helps average citizens, when they find themselves having to chase contractors to complete work already paid for, landlords who neglect their responsibilities, and businesses or government entities that are failing to perform their duties or taking advantage of everyday citizens. I have seen numerous such segments in many different towns and cities across the country; they are indeed quite popular and tend to be successful in their endeavors to get relief, and sometimes justice, for the people who write to them with issues. Just a thought. \par
ReplyDeleteAgain...thank you for your time and efforts with this site, you and your efforts to bring these issues to light are appreciated. I would gladly donate to the cause for maintenance or hosting fees. I apologize for the length of this comment...believe me, this is about as small as humanly possible to narrow it down. \par
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