EASTON, Pa. — Easton City Council moved to a new space in an effort to find solutions to the city’s legendary parking problem, exploring possible solutions at a special symposium Tuesday.
City officials welcomed residents and workers to a parking summit to provide updates on studies and reports in an attempt to find fixes for the oft-maligned “p-word problem.”
They also crowdsourced ideas to improve parking for everyone.
“So our decision tonight is to have the public who either owns a building downtown and has a business downtown or lives downtown to tell us what they think the solutions are. We know the problems."Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
The meeting's focus was to explore ideas to address the inability to find parking — in lieu of simply listing grievances, Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said at the start of the event.
“So our decision tonight is to have the public who either owns a building downtown and has a business downtown or lives downtown to tell us what they think the solutions are," Panto said.
"We know the problems.”
After setting the tone of the meeting, the mayor offered a summary of the information and current fixes the city has explored.
In an effort to encourage parking in the local garages as opposed to the street, garage rates were decreased slightly, and street meters were increased.
Discounts also were offered to night workers — particularly those in the restaurant industry — to use the garages, as well.
Studies and staff reports
Panto also noted that the city has instituted a “Crayola rate,” a parking rate intended to target visitors at the Crayola Experience “because during the summer we have a lot of people parking in our garages that are from [or going to] Crayola.”
“So we go to $3 [from $1 per hour], nothing different from a shore town in Jersey that gets a lot more money in May to October than it does from October to May,” Panto said.
The mayor highlighted an initiative to restrict any building with six or more residential units from being able to procure street parking passes.
He said that will be especially helpful once several multi-hundred-unit apartments open.
Panto also acknowledged a measure he introduced in the 1980s has led to a preponderance of parking issues because of the low cost of passes.
“The reason why we don't have parking on the street for the business district is because the residents are parking," Panto said. "And for $100 a year, why not?
“The dichotomy that exists in downtown, in any downtown, not just Easton, is you have the neighborhoods and you have the business and retail [districts], and that that conflicts.
"Because the people are home on weekends, and that's when the retailers do the best business… and that’s really the reality of it.”
Public proposals on parking
After that, Panto welcomed the public to weigh in.
One speaker threw out an idea of a “crowd calendar” akin to what Disney parks use, that could let Easton residents and visitors check parking availability throughout the day.
Modern Crumb Bakeshop owner Kathryn Gaffney offered several suggestions, including increased support for a parking validation program targeting small businesses by cutting costs to owners.
Also, discounted parking passes for local workers during the daytime, similar to a program currently underway for evening and night workers.
“I have employees that start at 4 a.m. and then they leave at 2," Gaffney said
"And I know we have a lot of bakeries, so I know I can't be the only people person struggling to kind of help support my employees and not making them have to take on the ownership out of their pockets just to pay to go to work.”
When Gaffney remarked on traffic jams upon exiting parking garages, Panto suggested issues with electronic checkouts could be to blame, adding it was a matter worth looking into.
City Administrator Luis Campos suggested, “I think we do need, perhaps, a person, an attendant” to help streamline the process.
Permits and parking bags
A suggestion to require permits for vehicles found in alleyways in the West Ward prompted Panto to entertain the idea of requiring registration for every vehicle in the city.
That may come to fruition as soon as next year, “so that in the West Ward you may only be able to register two cars, and after that, it starts costing you money to try to discourage these people that have four or five cars,” Panto said.
Pollywogs & Petunia's owner Michele Maher raised several concerns about access to parking for owner-occupied housing, in addition to reserved meter spaces — marked by a red bag that can be bought via the city for a set rate — which eat up spots.
“It’s every day of the week, 24 hours a day, they have got the red bags on there, just so you know," Maher said. "And like I said, we're down to two parking spaces.”
Maher said the city should consider limitations on the bags.
Public transit to reduce traffic
One of the biggest talking points for the evening was the role of public transportation to help reduce the presence of vehicles downtown.
Environmental Advisory Council Transportation Committee leader Nick Gorski spoke about working out a deal with Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority intended to bring more people into downtown Easton without increasing traffic substantially.
“LANTA is going to be a key partner for this, because they have the drivers, and more importantly, they have the vehicles," Gorski said.
"If we're able to use the capital costs that they've already spent, if we can put any funding that we can find toward operating costs, that means that we can run buses more frequently.”
That could help further alleviate traffic, he said.
Panto and Councilman Frank Pintabone shared stories about how the formerly robust public transit system in Easton was a staple of the city.
They said its current state — including a lack of interest from the public at large — spells a problem.
Pintabone said a recent meeting with LANTA officials — during which he was assured its buses run about every 20 minutes — he discovered those in the industry felt demand for public buses was too low to consider increasing traffic.
“I took the bus recently and got stuck," he said. "What they told me just wasn't true.
"Talking about increasing time, their issue is, how they try to defend it is, we don't have enough people that want it. We don't have enough, it's not worth their money to do it. So we have to look at trying to create the culture, right?”
Councilwoman Crystal Rose spoke on behalf of several constituents who didn't attend the summit, stressing the importance of pursuing some form of public transit as a vital piece of the puzzle to address the parking problem.
“I also had comments from several other people who couldn't be here tonight and who echo your sentiments, and I have to agree," Rose said.
"I mean, even if it's out of our control, we have to continue to push for transit loops between neighborhoods. It’s very important, and I think it’s something people want.”
Additional advice
Other suggestionsincluded investing in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, which could also double as parking spaces — though flammability issues in confined spaces such as garages have restricted their installation.
Also, enticing more grocery stores to move into the city proper, though desire from major outlets is limited.
At least one person suggested the city should try to create partnerships with private businesses and organizations to rent spaces during off-peak hours.
Panto said that option has been explored to no avail.
Another person suggested changes to the city’s parking meter app to allow for easier use, especially when it comes to increasing parking time.
One woman, who spoke highly of the accommodations at the Fourth Street garage, said it would be beneficial to allot reserved spaces as an option.
The mayor said that “was a good suggestion.”
Greater Easton Development Partnership Executive Director Jared Mast brought light to the issue of Easton Public Market workers finding spots.
Mast suggested the city should explore an option focused on low-wage workers, and exploring an “equitable arrangement” that would prevent those workers from parking in other neighborhoods and taking spaces.
Panto said the recommendations would be reviewed and presented to city council, likely in late September, followed by public hearings.