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.
ADDENDUM JUNE 7, 2024: More than one parking authority director has left Dodge before his/her shenanigens came home to roost. Up there on that list is building parking decks under specs, which then needed extensive rebuilding. Tied for first place is selling off the original long paid off, convenient surface lots, to save connected developers a few bucks for their new projects. (Which in turn required more expensive decks.) We now find out that the APA is a couple $mils in the hole...Their solution, adding back new meters where they don't belong and increasing parking fines. Allentown hired a former FBI agent to investigate discrimination in city hall, they should instead hire him to investigate the Parking Authority Monster.
I’ve lived in Allentown for many years, owned a few properties, promoted the city in a big way. About 25 years ago, I had seen enough and moved to the Hellertown area.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, Allentown has always been “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.” Blunder after blunder. It’s curious, as both Bethlehem and Easton appear to have made better decisions all along the way. Does reason and logic somehow end at Club Avenue?
You simply cannot compare Allentown to Bethlehem and Easton, each of which participates in a regional public school system. Of course Bethlehem and Easton are doing better, the home sale prices are higher and less working class families move to the suburbs. Conversely, Allentown's sale prices are far lower and more working class families move to the suburbs to escape ASD. Unlike Bethlehem and Easton, Allentown is left with an increasingly poor residents and higher population of Democrats. The only viable candidates are Democrats and the super majority residents are all Democrats so its a one party town and there's your blunder after blunder and your gang that cant shoot straight and the absence of reason and logic. Yes it does end at Club Avenue, where you enter into the Bethlehem Area School District.
DeleteApparently the Parking authority is looking for board members.
ReplyDeleteOur mayor asked me if I would be interested in serving on the authority board. No thank you.
DeleteAlthough two weeks have passed, I have received no reply on my request to be included on the new Parknership(park non-profit) board.
DeleteThat’s unfortunate. You would be an excellent addition to the park project group. No doubt, your comments at those meetings is seen as a threat. You would quickly be banished to sit in the ugly weed barrier that obscures our enjoyment of nature’s wonders.
DeleteRaising parking fees will hurt the people of Allentown but they're needed to help the government dig out of the debt hole they've dug themselves into while creating their parking kingdom. All the decks don't pay for themselves so the people have to kick in to make up the shortfall. Conclusion: public service has been replaced with self service, exactly the antithesis of what good government needs to be. Better love these politicians cause more to come.
ReplyDeleteYes, we knew it was coming... they always announce what the plan is before it's put into action and to Hades anyone that objects!!! Sadly, they manufactured their own crisis, just as the city itself has, or should, blame themselves for the pickle(s) the city is in.... but, never fear, the good ol' trusty taxpayers will be sent to the well to bail them out!!!
ReplyDeleteI still claim we would be in the black just enforcing speeding, parking and other traffic infractions... at least till the word got out that Allentown no longer allows such B/S driving... and then it would be back to the taxpayer bottomless well(s)!!! And then, when the traffic well drys up, we could start with noise, loitering and litter...
All of the above will not happen in our lifetimes.