Chief Thomas Scott of the Jenkintown Police Department issued a lengthy message regarding parking enforcement on the morning of Thursday, August 15.
According to Chief Scott, the department intends to work with Borough Council to update the current parking ordinance. A public meeting to receive feedback and address concerns is forthcoming, though a date was not mentioned. The department began training Parking Enforcement Officers to enforce violations in May.
The message also notes that parking payments will eventually become automated and coin operated meters will be phased out.
The message concludes with current parking restrictions and a QR code for the borough’s ParkMobile payment system.
The full message is below:
Good morning Jenkintown!!
We are aware that we have stirred significant emotions and concern regarding our recent parking enforcement activity. We understand that change can impact people in different ways. We wanted to address the issues and bring clarity to what our goals are with parking enforcement.
The Borough received a significant amount of complaints regarding parking violations throughout the Borough over the last two years. We were limited in the amount of time that our parking enforcement personnel were available to address the issues. The personnel were being utilized in various roles within the Borough because of staffing and other important tasks that had to be fulfilled, especially School Crossings. An opportunity arose to increase the availability and time dedicated to parking enforcement. We hired two part-time enforcement officers to fulfill this role. In addition, we identified several inconsistencies and missing information within the Borough Code for parking violations. This process is ongoing, and we have communicated to Borough Council the need to update and publish a more comprehensive parking ordinance.
There will be a public meeting to address parking within the Borough, especially in the Business District. We are looking for input from the community to address concerns and develop a strategic plan that will be successful for managing our limited parking. In addition, automation is the future of payment for parking because the banking industry does not want to count coins anymore. Several area communities have already converted to only paying via online applications or other types of payment. We are also looking to improve our current kiosks for the municipal lots. With these updated machines and a conversion to a more automated payment system, we will be phasing out all of our coin operated meters. We understand that this change can create some confusion and resistance. We are working to find the best solution to this issue.
The Police Department serves the community directed by the Borough Council to enforce the Borough Ordinances and the traffic laws that are designed for public safety. The parking enforcement personnel are tasked with the specific responsibilities related to these ordinances and traffic laws. Our personnel are human and make mistakes. We are conducting our tasks with humility and discretion. The goal is not specifically to just generate revenue. Parking restrictions and ordinances are for public safety, traffic flow, and for generating flow to our businesses during the normal business hours. The revenue generated assists with the costs of the maintenance of the parking facilities, kiosks, meters, signage, striping and salaries of parking enforcement personnel.
We encourage all residents and business owners to contact their respective Council Members or participate in the public meetings to address the parking issues so that the community has a voice in the future parking ordinances. As we work through this process, please be advised that we will continue to enforce the restrictions that are in the Ordinance and the traffic laws of the Commonwealth. See the attached list for those restrictions and we included the QR Code for Park Mobile so you can easily set up your account prior to utilizing the application.
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