The city of Easton announced an ordinance Wednesday calling for a new parking permit program on two downtown streets that often experience parking congestion. The ordinance — which will be voted on at the May 14 city council meeting — was the result of months of communication between city residents and the city’s public works department.
If approved, residents on Bushkill Drive and a small section of N. Delaware Drive would have priority parking on the streets and their licenses registered with the city.
The street currently offers free parking without meters, so many Easton residents from other city areas, workers and tourists park in the area given its proximity to the downtown district, according to city officials and residents.
“That unfortunately requires, or mandates that the residents find another place to park, and that’s unfortunate,” Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said of the circumstances when non-neighborhood residents park on Bushkill Drive. “This is a move to help the residents of that area.”
Lenore Beers, a city resident who piloted the program alongside Easton Public Works Manager Dave Hopkins, said that she was “really excited” to see the program begin if approved.
“We need to ensure that these people have a place to park,” she said.
The idea for the program came from a similar parking permit program on downtown Fifth Street and College Hill. Beers said she met with Hopkins, getting the idea from the city that a parking permit program would best accommodate residents’ needs.
“We live in small houses, so we’re only between one and three people living in the house,” Beers said. “It’s not, ‘Oh, me and my husband and my three grown children all need a spot for their car.’ It’s generally two to three cars per household that need a spot.”
Bushkill Drive residents, among other smaller neighborhoods in the city, have reported parking issues because of widespread growth in the area.
The city’s parking authority will drive through the neighborhood once a day to check that those parked have the necessary registration, with a $20 citation for those in violation, according to Hopkins. He explained that the enforcement will take place through license plate readers and that signage will be posted on the street if the ordinance is passed.
Beers added that there could be possible drawbacks, such as circumstances of larger gatherings where there may be a need for guests to park at more than the three registered spots and residents may require more registration tags. She affirmed, however, that she and the residents are “very flexible.”
“We’re hoping that that’s going to work for us,” Beers said.
