ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The embattled Allentown Parking Authority will hold a public forum Tuesday, giving residents another opportunity to voice concerns over parking enforcement in the city.
It comes less than a week after Mayor Matt Tuerk raised concerns about the accountability and transparency of the parking authority.
- Allentown Parking Authority will hold a public forum Tuesday at the Americus Hotel
- It comes as residents continue to complain about overbearing and predatory practices by the authority
- Last week, Mayor Tuerk had a request for funding approved for an analysis of the parking authority
Allentown City Council voted last Wednesday to approve Tuerk’s ordinance to appropriate $10,000 for an analysis of the parking authority. It came in response to hundreds of residents who are angry and frustrated over what they consider overbearing and predatory practices in the issuing of parking tickets and citations.
Tuesday’s meeting will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Americus Hotel, 555 Hamilton St. Residents who use the Community Deck will have their parking validated.
How did we get here?
Tuerk said he started considering an independent study of the authority around Christmastime — not long after the parking authority moved to a full-time, 24/7 operation.
But resident complaints against enforcement have been well documented over the years, and those voices have only gotten louder.
Residents have continued to shuffle between parking authority meetings, community group meetings and city council meetings to voice their concerns, in addition to numerous posts on Facebook and through other social media networks and apps.
What are residents saying?
On Monday, Allentown resident Jay Kindt posted a message on the parking authority’s Facebook page describing how meter parking that used to end at 6 p.m. now is enforced beyond that window in parts of the city.
“If I go one block east, CLOSER to downtown, it’s posted for 6 p.m.,” Kindt wrote. “Doesn’t make sense to me.”
Kindt said the decals on the parking signs have been changed numerous times, and included a photo.
“I’m guilty of the fine but the hours the meters are enforced in any given area doesn’t seem to make sense and seems random,” he said.
Kindt posted the same message in a private Facebook group, where one resident left a comment describing the parking authority as “money grabbers.”
Another added, “The fines and the rules are realistic in almost all cases but the inconsistent rules and enforcement of those inconsistent rules is also capricious.”
What happens next?
Amid the public criticism, Allentown Parking Authority’s chairman asked recently for all references to prison to be removed from agency ordinances.
The suggestion by Chairman Ted Zeller at a special meeting to review the agency's regulations would make it impossible for an unpaid ticket to result in incarceration.
Tuesday’s public forum at the Americus is the first of several meetings the parking authority will hold outside of its Linden Street headquarters.
The regular monthly Board of Directors meeting will also be noon Wednesday, March 22, in the Americus.
