CANTON - Canton Borough is preparing to advertise an updated motor vehicle ordinance that, if passed, would eliminate two-hour parking, among other things.
Borough council decided to advertise the ordinance at its meeting this week.
However, the advertisement of the ordinance doesn't make anything official. It only means that council will vote on the matters in the advertised ordinance at its March meeting. The updates could be voted down or approved.
"I guess what I would ask council to do is allow me to update the information and then advertise this for adoption at the March meeting," said Amy Seeley, borough administrator. She also thought the borough could put out an article about the updated ordinance. Council passed a motion for advertising the ordinance.
Seeley told council about the finding from the recent joint police/street committee meeting regarding two-hour parking.
"After some discussion at the committee level, it was recommended to eliminate the two-hour parking in the downtown section, (and) have no regulation for hours for parking," Seeley told council. "That was the recommendation that came from the committee."
When asked for comment, council president Ken Robertson said it's too difficult to enforce, given that the borough doesn't have meters or a meter maid. Also, the police can't monitor the parking continually, because they have often have to go to hearings and attend to other matters.
He said most of the complaints about two-hour parking concern from Troy Street. He said people complain about employees of businesses on the street who overstay the two-hour limit.
He pointed out that the employees could be using the municipal parking lot in back of Troy Street.
At the committee meeting, committee members had expressed support for the idea of people doing the right thing regarding parking.
"It's got to be an honor thing between the people that park there," committee and council member Alfonse Ciaccio said at the committee meeting.
The ordinance that will be advertised also will call for a snow emergency in the borough to automatically go into effect, once the National Weather Service issues a snow emergency warning.
"So, then it just automatically comes into play," Seeley told council.
The ordinance that Seeley will advertise will also call for vehicles to be off certain borough streets for the duration of the snow emergency.
Seeley read off the streets: Fassett Street, North Washington Street, North Minnequa Avenue, Lycoming Street, East Tioga Street, High Street, McIntosh Lane, and Clinton Street. She said they are the narrower streets in town, and the list is based on feedback from the street superintendent.
Seeley told council that the mayor declared a snow emergency with the recent snowstorm. She said the street superintendent "acknowledged that plowing was a lot easier this time because cars did move further off to the side than they had been." She said it was announced over the radio.
"It seemed to definitely make a difference," she said.
In addition, the ordinance that will be advertised will call for the police parking space in front of the municipal building on East Main Street to be a regular parking space.
This is due to the need for parking in the borough, Robertson said.
Robertson said concerned residents can voice their opinion at the meeting next month when council votes on whether to approve the ordinance.
Council also addressed some other items for the ordinance, including fines, permits for processions and assemblages; and tractor-trailer truck traffic on a cluster of streets in the area of Canton Manufacturing.
There was also one other matter for the ordinance.
"And then I just added into this ordinance our engine brake noise disturbance; it was a separate ordinance and we're just going to combine it," Seeley told council.
Council discussed the matters in public following an executive session.
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; email: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.
