ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Amid public criticism of harsh punishment for parking violations, Allentown Parking Authority's chairman asked Thursday for all references to prison be removed from agency ordinances.
The action suggested by board 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.
- Allentown Parking Authority Chairman Ted Zeller on Thursday asked for all references to "prison" to be struck from city ordinances, in reference to consequences for unpaid parking tickets
- A person could now technically go to prison for up to 10 days for an unpaid parking ticket, even for a street-cleaning violation
- Allentown Parking Authority says nobody has ever been imprisoned for an unpaid parking ticket in the city. And nobody will "on my watch," Zeller said
"I feel very strongly about this," Zeller said near the end of the meeting.
The issue was brought up after the public raised repeated concerns about the language in the ordinance, mostly at city council meetings.
On Wednesday, council approved a $10,000 study to look into what some call the "unchecked power" of the Allentown Parking Authority.
As it stands, city ordinances related to parking use the words "prison" or "imprisonment" seven times.
One of these references indicates that parking during street cleaning can result in up to 10 days in prison.
When the street cleaning passage was mentioned during Thursday's board meeting, Zeller laughed out loud.
"We've never tested it to find out, nor do we have an interest. And so we were thinking about recommending it be eradicated. That's our point."Ted Zeller, chairperson of the Allentown Parking Authority
According to multiple people on the board, nobody has ever been imprisoned for an unpaid parking ticket in Allentown.
"We've never tested it to find out, nor do we have an interest," Zeller said after the meeting. "And so we were thinking about recommending it be eradicated. That's our point."
Technically, it could happen if a judge decided to enforce the ordinance as it's currently written, Zeller conceded.
Zeller recommended that the prison references be struck from the ordinances in time for the board's next meeting on April 26.
Meanwhile, a public forum about the Allentown Parking Authority is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, in the Americus Hotel, 555 Hamilton St.
