ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Parking Authority soon will start writing tickets overnight — less than two years after its board scrapped late-night patrols under intense public pressure.
Overnight enforcement is scheduled to restart Jan. 6, parking authority officials said.
Enforcers will look only for “public safety” violations, including double-parking, blocking a street or fire hydrant and parking too close to a corner.
The parking authority also is working to dig its way out of a large budget hole — caused by the end of 24/7 enforcement in April 2023.Allentown Parking Authority
The “modified” patrols are meant to “reduce safety hazards, ensuring that our roadways and parking areas remain open, unobstructed, and safe for emergency responders, residents, and visitors alike,” officials said Wednesday in a news release.
The parking authority also is working to dig its way out of a large budget hole — caused by the end of 24/7 enforcement in April 2023.
Its board slashed active patrol hours by almost 50%, including no active enforcement on Sunday.
The agency in fall 2022 took over enforcement of the city’s parking ordinances from police and generated “very consistent” revenues for several months that year, according to board Chairman Ted Zeller.
'Not a 'the sky is falling' moment'
Officials built the authority’s 2023 budget around that inflated revenue, but the end of all-day-every-day enforcement just four months into the year left the agency about $1.8 million short of its projected budget, Zeller said in March.
It had a reserve fund of about $2.4 million, so the budget shortfall was “not a 'the sky is falling' moment,” he said.
“The APA approaches this new enforcement period with a spirit of understanding and respect for all community members."Allentown Parking Authority officials in a news release
The agency’s board this summer unanimously approved an internal payment-plan system and a citywide parking-meter study, triggering a series of parking-fine increases previously approved by Allentown City Council members.
The parking authority board also raised parking-deck rates and permit prices for surface lots and decks. Those internal policy changes were projected to bring in more than $1 million in additional revenues.
“The APA approaches this new enforcement period with a spirit of understanding and respect for all community members,” officials said Wednesday.
