Last Wednesday evening City Council passed a few reforms in regard to the Parking Authority. Changing the curb parking distance from 6 to 9 inches doesn't seem very meaningful to me...Actually seems more like an off color joke. Likewise, eliminating jail sentences for overdue fines just does away with debtor's prison. To this blogger the real issue was the alley parking. Although the Parking Authority proposed allowing parking under certain conditions, city council declined to pass that reform. That failure to reform takes me back to the beginning of this controversy, and my issue about city council members also being on the Parking Authority Board. Was there any real reform, or just another Allentown performance?
If the APA doesn't relax enforcement in the west end, and continues its crass harvest of revenue, City Council participated in nothing more than another dog and pony show to placate the public.
ADDENDUM:The current director of the APA and the current board of directors should ALL be removed...when an Authority in a city the size of Allentown writes 250,000 tickets in just one year, and they don't think there's anything wrong about that, it's time for them to move on.
photocredit:Coney Island snake charmer by Arlene Gottfried
No parking in alleys is good policy. The fire chief confirmed this. One woman complained about being allowed to park in front of her garage. Why has no one asked why she simply doesn’t park in her garage? Garages are for cars, not for junk.
ReplyDeleteIt's really quite simple. The less tickets issued, the river of revenue to the APA is reduced. It's all about the money
ReplyDeleteanon@6:32: The current director of the APA and the current board of directors should ALL be removed...when an Authority in a city the size of Allentown writes 250,000 tickets in just one year, and they don't think there's anything wrong about that, it's time for them to move on.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to alley parking, is there a legal distinction between an alley and a street ?
ReplyDeleteThis is not a frivolous question, and let me explain why. For example, Hall Street is the half street between 7th and 8th running basically north-south. From its appearance, its an alley as the width of the street is much less than the 'main' streets of 7th or 8th. However, it is designated as a street by the city. It is not "Hall Alley".
People have residences on 7th and 8th streets, and can park along the street in front of their home. People also have residences on Hall Street. If Allentown banned parking in alleys, they would not have the same right as a resident on 8th street, for example, to park in front of their residence.
In fact Allentown has quite a large number of alley residences. Silk Street, New Street, Refwal Street, Mulberry Street, the list is long. Discriminating against people living in these residences by not allowing them the same level of parking convivence as people who have residences on 'main' streets raises 4th amendment issues.
You raised an interesting point. Technically, they are not alleys . They are actually quarter streets. But, the issue might be whether police, fire, and ambulance have access to a clear, unobstructed path.
DeleteHow are people who violate the City's laws and get a parking ticket "victims"? I'm very concerned that the next witch hunt will be over at Allentown Police Department. Will the arrest records at APD be scrutinized and will there be a determination that "victims" need to be protected from APD? It's pretty sad when the only law enforcement agency in the City (APA) that you see out and about on a daily basis, patrolling and professionally/actively enforcing the City's laws are getting criticized. As a resident who parks legally, I'm 100% behind strict/proactive law enforcement in Allentown.
ReplyDeleteIt must be stated that all roadways are "streets" and although we all tend to refer to the various half-streets in the City as "alleys" there is no such distinction in the Pa State Vehicle Code which the APA follows as well as the Allentown Police Dept.
DeleteThe width of streets (alleys) is used as a determining factor in deciding which ones can allow for parking while still allowing the safe passage of emergency vehicles such as Fire trucks and ambulances.