EMMAUS, Pa. — Paid parking kiosks may be coming to a municipal lot in Emmaus — and with it comes a pathway for more to be introduced in the future.
- An ordinance introduced to Emmaus Borough Council would establish parking kiosks at a borough-controlled lot at 311 Main St.
- The ordinance also comes with a set of rules, fees and other outlines of how the kiosks are to be regulated
- Borough Manager Shane Pepe said having an ordinance governing the concept of parking kiosks would make it easier for the borough to potentially introduce more
An ordinance introduced at Borough Council's meeting Tuesday establishes a parking kiosk zone at 311 Main St., at Wells Fargo Bank, with an unlimited maximum parking time during all days of the week.
That ordinance will be put before the council for a likely vote at its March 20 meeting.
Borough Manager Shane Pepe said at Tuesday's meeting that the decision to introduce metered parking arose in the Public Safety Committee over how to regulate the rented lot the borough controls at the location.
"We felt that the best way to meter that parking was what most municipalities are doing today, and that's a kiosk parking style," Pepe said.
A road for future kiosks
The current ordinance only establishes paid kiosk parking at the 311 Main St. lot, but in case that the borough wants to introduce further parking kiosks in lots it controls, the overarching regulations already are drafted and designed.
"As we looked at drafting the ordinance, we had said, 'You know, we should probably draft an ordinance that, in case the borough in the future wants to put a kiosk in any other part of the borough, we have a blanket ordinance that governs the entire concept of it,'"Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe
That would allow for a more simplified future amendment process for additional parking regulations in the same vein, rather than requiring lengthy new ordinances.
"As we looked at drafting the ordinance, we had said, 'You know, we should probably draft an ordinance that, in case the borough in the future wants to put a kiosk in any other part of the borough, we have a blanket ordinance that governs the entire concept of it,'" Pepe said.
Fees for the kiosks are not established by the ordinance, but would be established by resolution, with initial fees to be discussed following the passage of the ordinance.
Fees for violations
The ordinance also establishes that ticketing may occur if parking permits for the cars parked in the zone are expired, with each hour after the date of the initial violation remaining in the space considered a separate violation.
It states that any person in violation of what is set in the ordinance will be fined at least $20.
Violations of or similar to the ordinance and parking provisions set by the state's motor vehicle code, such as parking on private property or parking too far from the curb, is a fine of at least $15. Fees increase following 10 days of it being unpaid.
Additionally, it establishes that the borough may issue long-term parking permits in parking kiosk zones in monthly increments, restricted to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for daytime permits and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for evening/nighttime permits.
Councilman Chad Balliet and council President Brent Labenberg voiced concern over the need to establish that people seeking special parking exceptions can't use a kiosk space to meet that exception, which Pepe said could be addressed through modifying a zoning ordinance.
Other parking measures were passed in recent meetings by the borough, including establishing changes to the borough's parking regulations of areas where parking is prohibited or restricted to certain hours and establishing the installation of a disabled parking sign and permitted parking space for a resident.
