At the end of my recent column about double parking on North Seventh Street in Allentown, I asked for ideas for how to rid the area of the louts.
A new parking lot in the neighborhood seems to be helping, I wrote, but some people still insist on being lazy and double parking in the bustling business district there, along with many other places in the city.
I figured a lot of others are fed up with the problem, too. I was right. Here are some of the suggestions I received for what Allentown officials should try next.
Tow, tow, tow
“Double parking isn’t parking at all; it’s willfully and negligently abandoning a vehicle on a public right of way and risking a catastrophe. Morons who do it should be charged accordingly, and their cars should be immediately towed and impounded until their cases are adjudicated.”
“You want to get a double parker’s attention? Have tow trucks driving around to pick up those cars on a flatbed truck. It would be just like when someone parks at a private lot and their car gets towed. Then the offender would have to go to the impound lot and pay $300 to get their car back … also make the fine for the parking authority $500. Let’s hit the lazy double parkers in the wallet really hard.”
“These people know they shouldn’t double park. They don’t care. Some drivers will never care until they pay mightily for not caring … I read about how other cities handle this and the ultimate solution is towing and booting.”
Harsher penalties
“There are many highways in a variety of states where fines are doubled in the areas where speeding is far too common. Signs are posted warning travelers of this penalty if one chooses to be reckless and exceed the posted speed limit. In the Seventh Street corridor notorious for double parking violations, I advocate a program that would do much the same … the additional penalties should certainly help to reduce the double parking violations and would hopefully provide enough revenue to support an increase in the number of personnel that would more frequently police this area.”
“After two double parking tickets, the fine will be $500 for each ticket thereafter. Three tickets, will also be assessed three points to your driving record for causing a potential accident.”
Photo enforcement
“Just like they do on the Turnpike [with speeders in work zones] … double parkers will be photographed and they will be mailed the tickets … I think the camera effect would work.”
Embarrass them
“Publish the names and photos of all offenders. Allentown Parking Authority has drones to record patterns to predict issues. Repeat offenders have their license suspended and have billboards with name and picture. Fine the passengers if they have a license when the driver exits the vehicle, as they could have circled the vehicle around.”
Incentives for tougher ticketing
“Give a bonus out to parking authority officers who issue more than 25 tickets specifically for double parking in a one-week period. Incentives for enforcement and monetary consequences are the only way these parking fools understand.”
Are we judging too harshly?
A handful of readers took offense with me labeling double parkers as stupid and lazy. Sometimes, brief double parking is warranted, they argued.
“You are painting with quite a wide brush,” one reader suggested. “You may be surprised by listening to their stories.”
He told me he got a ticket while being double parked for less than two minutes on a blustery rainy November day while delivering for Meals on Wheels.
Another man said he sometimes has to double park when picking up an elderly woman to take her to the bank once a month. She can’t walk more than a few car lengths.
“Nine out of 10 times, I am unable to find a space on the street close enough for her to walk to,” he told me. “You need to understand more about the reasons for which people double park and recognize that your stated solutions are not available in all Allentown neighborhoods.”
Another reader said it’s unrealistic to expect someone to park a block away when they are unloading groceries or laundry.
“I thought it was rather harsh to portray folks that double park as lazy, inconsiderate and ignorant louts,” she told me.
“Having lived in a number of low-rent districts during my lifetime, I would not have necessarily considered a parking lot located a block away from my home to be a convenient option.”
I believe most people are understanding enough to recognize there can be extenuating circumstances, including those that readers pointed out. That’s why I didn’t mention that in my recent column.
I agree that not all double parking is the same. At times, it may be warranted. Here’s what I wrote in a column in 2018:
I recognize there are times when it’s necessary to double park if you’re picking up or dropping off an elderly person who can’t walk far, or unloading something too heavy to carry far. But those should be the exceptions, and I don’t see that often.
Delivery trucks are allowed to double park, but that doesn’t mean they have to. Sometimes you’ll see one blocking traffic when there clearly is enough space to pull to the curb. They shouldn’t get a break if that’s the case.
In other words, while it may be acceptable to double park at times, that’s not an excuse to do it if there’s a parking space within a reasonable distance. Most of us are considerate of special situations, but our empathy has limits. Don’t take advantage of it.
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com
